The Distance These Hands Can Reach
by neuroseki
Summary: I'm not into love and all that; But I do... - Negitoro / MikuxLuka.
1. 85cm

**The Distance These Hands Can Reach**

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><p>Chapter 1 – 85cm<p>

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><p>An electric silence filled the air.<p>

The stage lights all simultaneously shut off, leaving the venue in total darkness for a few moments, the only light source being the mass amount of glowsticks some people held in their hands and wore on their body. Everyone in the building let out a collective sigh. Exhaustion and relief washed over.

A twin tailed girl made her way around the dark stage as the venue's ceiling lights slowly came on, moving around all the equipment and cables as she stepped behind the curtains to a brightly lit backstage, letting her steps become heavier as she let her stage persona shed away. The thumps of a familiar bass line filtered through the air as she heard the lobby play a 'Project DIVA' medley as the crowd dispersed away. It was a successful concert debut for herself and her co-stars, but the excitement and electricity lingered in her and she knew it was the same for everyone else. She made her way around the crew, her eyes searching for somebody she had been intending to speak with.

Teal met teal.

Neither had meant to end up staring, but the excitement and the relief left them wordless and expressionless.

To a passer-by, they looked like beta fish, staring each other down and ready to face off. They even resembled them; their hair, complementary, flowing. One could swear they could see it, it was clearly happening right before them.

The air around them almost vibrated with tension as the stage crew moved around trying to get everything packed and ready to go. Most of the equipment was pretty much off the stage, except for some amplifiers and lights which the two women prevented from being taken away, what with them standing in the mess of power cords.

"…" Miku let out a small sigh in front of the woman before her, letting her stern façade fall, the atmosphere suddenly calming down, "You… Wow, you were awesome!" she beamed, "The way you dance… the way you sang… wow. I think I'm a fan."

Luka blinked and smiled gently, her lips curling at the corners ever so slightly, she let out a small laugh, "Thank you, you were quite impressive as well. And you have a lot more courage than me, those outfits…" her voice trailed off as her eyelids lowered and she looked a bit to the side, a pink tint to her cheeks.

Miku was flustered, knowing full well what the woman was implying. The first big concert held by Crypton had finished just moments before. It was a sort of thanks to the fans of the acts associated with the agency; The Kagamine twins Rin and Len, and Luka had performed but of course, it was no other than the shining star, the world's #1 princess, Hatsune Miku who took center stage as the main act. All of them had pretty tiring routines, but since Miku was the one performing for most of the show, Crypton felt that, in order to spice up her routines, they were going to put her in various, questionable outfits; some accompanied and fit the song, but others just seemed plain random. They ranged from pretty normal things like cute dresses, and then to weirder ones like a modified cat outfit and on to more daring ones, which Miku figured what Luka was implying, like singing and dancing in a bikini.

"Ah…! Well…" Miku let out a small embarrassed laugh. She should be used to such things by now, but for some reason, talking about it with someone who did the same thing as you was pretty nerve-wracking, "… I guess I didn't have much of a choice. Crypton decided that for me… but I can't really say I didn't enjoy it. They were pretty fun and unique, I guess."

Luka let out another small laugh. She had found them interesting herself, but she sincerely believed she wouldn't have the courage to wear such things on stage.

"Ah! There they are! Mikuuuu! Lukaaaa!" A yellow blur appeared before them. Spiky locks of hair bounced as it spoke, "We've been looking for you guys! That was awesome! Wow! That duet too, wow. Wow!" The boy spoke a hundred kilometers per minute, eyes shining with admiration for the two idols before him, " Rin! They're over here!" He turned and waved to another yellow blur that weaving around the working stage crew.

"Oh! Len! And Luka, Mikuuu!" Rin made her way to her overexcited twin, the ribbon on her head swaying with her step, "Here you are, I thought you guys would be resting at the lounge room by now!" Rin proclaimed, clearly calmer than her brother.

The two women flashed a smile at the twins. Miku grabbed Len's shoulder and imitated his expression, eyes sparkling, "Ah! I was going to, but I ran into Luka…" she looked at the taller companion, "…and I just couldn't help myself! I had to go congratulate her, I mean, wow! Her stage presence was so mesmerizing, her songs and her moves… wow! Right Len?" She looked at the boy next to her, who was furiously nodding at Miku's statements, joining in on her praise, "Yeah! Wow! Wooow! So awesome!" the two said in unison.

"That's a little… uh, nevermind," Rin sighed, shaking her head but clearly understanding what Miku and Len had been agreeing over. Luka did pretty much command the stage for the short time she had it, "But they're right, Luka. That was one hell of a performance… the fans were as wild for you as they were for Miku!"

The pink haired woman blushed at the sudden overwhelming praise. How'd this happen? All she wanted to do was compliment Miku on her performance and fortitude for being able to perform in the things she did… but now somehow, it turned out to everyone complimenting her, "Ah… no, it's just that I already took dancing lessons before coming to Crypton… I guess everything just fell into place that way? And anyways, all of you put on a great performance! Not just me or Miku. Everyone was cheering for you twins too." Luka felt the need to praise the younger ones, but she didn't want to make it a banter back and forth, "How about we all take some time to celebrate later? At my condo. We can talk as much as we want there too." Luka offered, noticing that the crew was humbly slowing their efforts so as to make it not seem like they were not waiting for the celebrities to move so they could clean up the rest of the venue.

Miku's eyes sparkled even more, if it was possible anyways, "Really? We can?"

"Of course", Luka returned at the teal girl, "And you are all free to stay if it gets too late." She offered.

"Ah, that won't be a problem though. Well, not for us," Rin thought out loud, "Len and I live down the street from you, so I don't think we'll be intruding by staying the night. I'm in!"

Len gave a big grin, "Alright! Me too!" he confirmed, as if it wasn't obvious already, "A partyyyy, I can't wait!"

Luka couldn't help but laugh in amusement at her companions. Something as simple as a celebration for their first concert shouldn't be something to be so excited about… but she found herself looking forward to it as well, "Well then, let's all meet up there after we get out of here okay? I'll be wait—"

"Megurine-san! Hatsune-san!" A crew member wearing a black shirt with a small logo and 'Project DIVA' printed on it waved at them. The two teal-eyed idols looked at him, "Takanashi-san wants to speak to the two of you in the VIP box when you are free." He declared, approaching them and stopped a respectful distance away.

The two looked at each other and nodded, "We're not doing anything right now, so we'll be there in several minutes." Miku affirmed. Luka nodded.

The crew member nodded at them, "Alright, I'll relay the message" he said, briskly walking towards the upper seating area.

Luka turned back to the yellow pair, "Rin, Len, come over in an hour okay? Message me when you are about arrive, alright?" She winked at the two, "I really do mean to celebrate tonight, so even if you do live within walking distance, just prepare in case you do end up staying over."

Miku and Rin looked at Luka questioningly, Len's smile grew wider, "Did Meicchi leave _gifts_ again?" he asked, using the silly nickname that somehow stuck to Meiko, his question implying that the short haired brunette might have left some bottles of her favourite item the last time she might have stayed.

Luka laughed, "Meiko always leaves presents, on purpose or not… so, I guess to answer your question, yes, she did."

"Luka…" Miku gave her a concerned yet excited smile, "They're… 14, you know. " She quietly stated.

Luka gave her a small wave of her hand and smiled uncharacteristically mischievously, "We're all underage, Miku." She smiled at the girl, "Don't want to?"

Miku shook her head. As concerned as she was for the twins, she was pretty excited to join any celebrations concerning the successful concert, especially if said celebration was involving her colleagues. Plus, she had to admit, the combination of that and the thrill of underage drinking was something she didn't want to miss. Keeping up appearances was something they all had to do, day in and day out, but she figured if it was going to be at someone's place for the entire duration of the debauchery, it'd be alright. "I do." She stated simply, trying to mask the anticipation in her voice.

Luka smiled. "Alright, we're gonna go see Takanashi-san. Message me later like I said, okay you two?" She waved at the pair as she walked towards the seating area, Miku trailing behind.

The twins waved back and decided to head home and get ready.

The pink and teal pair walked the steps towards the VIP box where their manager, Takanashi, had been observing. They were in good spirits, knowing that it'd be nothing bad, otherwise Takanashi would have seen them personally instead of sending a crew member for them. They proceeded with a comfortable silence on their short trip, stopping at the VIP door. Luka knocked at the door and called out, "Takanashi-san, it's Luka—" Miku's hand turned the handle and pushed the door open slightly, "—and Miku~" she finished. Luka looked at her for a second and shook her head slightly, peering inside and she understood exactly why it was called the VIP room. It had a full and perfect view of the stage and the fans below; with comfortable couches and the amenities of a full bar to accompany it—the perfect vantage point for a manager.

Takanashi turned to greet them with a blinding grin, "Ah! You two, finally." The manager motioned for the girls to sit on the couch and they complied. "Let me start off by saying 'Wow'. What a performance," That word seemed to be thrown around a lot tonight, "Exciting. Luka! Wow!" and another use.

Luka smiled at her manager, "Thank you".

Takanashi's attentions moved to the teal haired girl seated next to Luka, "Miku! Wow! That was amazing."

Miku gave her manager a grin, amused at the simple, repetitive compliments, "Thank you, it was such an amazing experience!"

Takanashi gave them both a fervent nod and decided to get to business, "That duet… magnet; you two had a real connection there. The performance was so captivating. The entire audience was enchanted by the way you two harmonized," The manager gave them both a glinting eye, praising their one and only collaboration for the concert, "I had made an off-hand comment to one of the producers that were in here with me earlier during 'magnet' that your voices seemed like they were made to complement one another and they could only agree!" Takanashi laughed joyfully and the two divas smiled and looked at each other and their manager, knowing what they would hear next, "So, they asked if they could try to come up with something for your approval… the both of you, that is. They want to start on working on a duet with you two, if that would be alright with you." Takanashi gave them a questioning smile to punctuate the statement.

The girls smiled gleefully, "Of course!" they said in unison. The two had had the same thoughts when they were working on 'magnet' and had been volleying the idea of another duet between the two of them, so this chance was something they would not pass on. "We'd be glad to. We were discussing the same things ourselves since 'magnet', Takanashi-san. " Luka started, "An opportunity like this is something we'd be glad to do!" Miku finished.

Takanashi beamed. "Great! Fantastic. The producer wants to really work with you two, so it was offered that if you agreed, that you two should come up with the theme or the lyrics, just to get a general grasp of the feel of it all. There's no rush, so feel free to take as long as you need to come up with something great. I'll tell them the news and I'll get back to you!"

The two silently cheered as they gave their thanks to their manager, heading out and down back to the dressing rooms to gather their things and change from their stage outfits onto something a little more casual, preparing to leave, resisting the urge to dance in exhilaration as they did so.

Luka looked at the younger star as she walked to the parking lot behind the venue, "Miku, do you just want to ride with me? I don't want you to take a taxi or the train when we're going to the same destination anyways."

Miku turned her head slightly to look at Luka, "Ah… well, I was going to get something from my place real quick before I went over…" she started, Luka tilted her head questioningly, "…but it can wait some other time! We have one more thing to celebrate, at least between us anyways!" She grabbed Luka's hand lightly and shook them to the sky cheerfully, "So, I'll take you up on your offer!" Miku released her and put her hand to her hip, the other forming a fist, "Let's celebrate hard tonight!"

Luka laughed at her cheerful companion, Miku's excitement seemed to be seeping into her body as she copied her pose and put her fist to the air, "Alright! Let's do this!" she declared and led Miku to her small, gray car.

Miku strapped herself in and started flipping through various CDs in Luka's car, scanning through radio channels simultaneously. She couldn't find anything to listen to, so she took out her phone and started flipping through her song library, scrolling endlessly through the playlist. Luka observed her from the corner of her eye, but kept her attentions to the road in front of her as she pulled out her little Miata from the private lot and started heading for her condo. Miku kept scrolling through her playlist and Luka smiled, "So, what do you think about the project offer?" She started off, breaking Miku out of her song scroll trance.

"Ah? Oh, yeah." She put down her phone and let it rest on her thigh, "I'm not quite sure yet. I'm pretty excited though, I agree with the manager and the producer about our voices. We really do harmonize quite well." she stated, thinking about the things they went through with the production of magnet.

It amazed her, really. Luka was the newest recruit into Crypton, and while Miku never really found it hard to socialize with people, her meekness seemed to intensify around her. She had attested it to Luka being older than them, her being 16 and Luka being 20, the twins, 14. At first she would just greet her and small talk about their work, finding it hard to bring up subjects they would connect with aside from that. Miku was mainly concerned with her studies and having a somewhat normal life outside of the agency, and since Luka seemed so independent, she didn't want to bother bringing up trivial things like teachers and tests and gossip on campus. As a result, she seemed rather distant to the older woman, which many found to be a sign of rivalry between the two, especially with Luka becoming popular from nearly the moment she got recruited, her songs placing on the Top 30 overnight, knocking some of the Kagamine's songs out of place and even Miku's songs as well.

Luka herself found Miku to be rather different from her image of her. She had expected a teal bubble of energy and excitement of the twin-tailed idol, but finding her to be so shy and meek, pretty much just downright fickle; Luka couldn't help but find it somewhat darling and becoming of Miku. It contrasted her idol persona quite well. Luka was pleased to learn that the world's best princess didn't act like one at all.

Luka didn't really converse too much with Miku and the twins, it was more apprehension than anything, but a slight sense of intimidation lingered since she technically was the newest addition. It all changed very quickly though, with the proposal of a duet with Miku. The song, magnet, though risqué in nature got plenty of support from the fans and helped suppress the rumours of the two being spiteful rivals; in exchange though, it gave birth to an entire new set of rumours to replace the ones that faded away.

Miku's complexion matched her companion's hair as she recalled what was being said about them, "I think we should do something fun…" her voice trailed off and Luka raised an eyebrow at her comment, Miku not entirely reading the mood that set between them whenever 'magnet' was brought up or even just implied, "…Ah! I mean! Eh, ah, I meant that for the song! We should do something that feels fun! Ahhh… I meant…!"

Luka stifled an amused laugh that threatened to come out at Miku's stumbled words, the younger woman clearly understanding the implications, "I agree." She simply stated, calming Miku's growing embarrassment.

Miku sensed some teasing in Luka's voice and questioned to herself what exactly Luka was agreeing to. Luka had taken to the rumours a lot better than Miku did, often taking the chance to make her feel flustered after the fans showed such a reaction—Miku thought it wouldn't have been too weird if Luka started some of the rumours herself, just to get a stir out of her younger co-star. Her nature was so mischievous, Miku almost found it unbelievable, especially when Luka was a downright proper lady when it came to business and strangers; she just attributed it to their relations growing after the recording. Still though, she could sometimes be confusing, and it was more often than not that Miku wondered if it was attraction or something of the sort; both on Luka's part and on her own. However when she did have such thoughts, the embarrassment would often get to her and she'd give up thinking of them before she hurt her head and got to any real conclusion. But it was moments like these that such thoughts blossomed; such vague statements and the heated air around them… how could she not go straight to those thoughts? "You agree? On wha—"

Luka pulled in quickly into a lot and skilfully parked the gray vehicle before Miku could finish her question, "We're here," she smiled at the girl, dodging the upcoming question. Two different bright tones rang from both of their pockets, "And I am guessing that's the twins messaging. Let's go!"

"Aah... okay?" Miku left her mouth agape at the sudden change of mood, her curiosity left hanging in her thoughts, as they often did with these kinds of things. She thought it'd be best to keep to herself for now, letting her thoughts race in her mind as she checked her phone and followed Luka on the steps to her condo.

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><p><em>Author's Notes: Well, here's the rather short introductory chapter. I'm sorry for the lack of length. The following chapters will have much most substance, I assure you. I apologize if it's a sudden throw into the plot, I'm trying to lay it all out here, but it'll be expanded upon with the chapters. Actually, am I going too slow? Too fast? Oh gosh.<em>

_It's been years since I've written anything, so I apologize if anything sounded or looked strange. My English has also degraded, so I find myself having a harder time expressing what I wanted to more than I used to a few years back._

_Anyways, thanks for reading this so far. Hopefully it sparked your interest. There's definitely much more to come. _

_I apologize again for such a short chapter, I'll have the next one up soon. And I apologize again if I am moving too slow._

_See you all soon._

_P.S. – Oh. Also. I don't own the rights to Vocaloid. I think that's obvious._


	2. 250cm

**The Distance These Hands Can Reach**

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><p>Chapter 2 – 250cm<p>

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><p><em>Author's Notes: Here's chapter 2, and as promised, it's a lot longer than the introductory first chapter. I do think I have a bit of an issue with being too wordy though. I apologize. I try to break it up into smaller chapters, but I don't know, I just end up being a very descriptive person regardless. I'm sorry if it's too lengthy for your tastes.<em>

_Let's get this going._

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><p>"L-L-L... Luka!" A tipsy Hatsune Miku stumbled over her speech as she scooted to the farthest end of the couch as she could without letting herself fall off. Pink locks of hair draped over her, tickling her skin as she tried to unconvincingly escape the grasp of the woman on top of her.<p>

"Miku. Stop fidgeting." Luka inched closer to Miku, sitting with her knees on the couch; she shifted her weight so she could use her hands to keep the teal haired girl's head from moving so much. She pressed her palms on her cheeks and stared at her intently, "Lend me your stomach."

"E… E-eh?" Miku's entire body turned a darker shade of red, the intoxication and body heat getting to her. Luka wasn't making very much sense right now and it wasn't helping her confusion. Though her state of mind was hazy and jumbled, she imagined the fully intoxicated Luka's to be in a far worse state.

Luka had drank nearly double than her and the twins; spouting something about the host not losing to her guests or something like that—and as such, Luka stopped making sense about a half hour before she somehow got Miku trapped at the edge of her couch, asking to lend her unmoveable body parts. Miku observed the woman, severely confused at her request.

Luka let out an annoyed but soft grunt, a little irritated that Miku just looked at her with such a lost expression on her face.

Really.

Gosh.

Honestly.

It was such a simple request; all she had to do was answer yes or no to her. Nevermind that she fully understood that her demand pretty much only made sense to herself; It was Miku's fault for not being able to read her mind. She gave up waiting for an answer and broke her gaze, deciding that Miku's answer was 'yes' and plopped down from her kneeling position to unceremoniously rest her head on the terribly baffled young woman's stomach; closing her eyes and trying to do her best to send a telepathic message to Miku that this is what she meant when she had prompted her—the back of her mind scolding her for being so silly as to try to communicate with the clearly flustered girl in such a ridiculous manner.

Despite her drunken state, Luka knew fully well what her actions were causing. She had been teasing Miku ever since they started working on 'magnet' after all, and that was months ago. Luka knew that Miku's thoughts were probably racing chaotically through her mind at this very moment, but she didn't really feel like explaining herself right now. The depressant effects of alcohol were starting to get to her, her body burning both on the inside and out.

Whose idea was it to have her drink twice as much as everyone else anyways?

Goodness. Her idea of the perfect pillow to calm her down wasn't really helping too much. It breathed too strangely, it was too hot, it was fidgeting too much. "Miku." Her muffled voice called to the girl, her head unmoving.

Miku looked down at the woman that had decided to trap her to the edge of the infernal couch, "Luka?" The small girl looked down onto the woman that was now using her as her own personal pillow. Miku understood that Luka was drunk. Miku understood that Luka needed to rest for a second. Miku understood that she should just let Luka lie down for a little bit for everyone's own good. Miku couldn't help her heart from leaping out of her chest though, and her hands were awkwardly placed on the couch, leaving her in a rather interesting position. Luka was face down on her stomach and whenever she spoke, her voice would send vibrations onto herself, embarrassment crawling and seeping into her bones. Gosh. Miku knew Luka was a tease, but gosh. Nevermind that Luka probably didn't intend to tease her right now. She was just probably too drunk to notice what she was doing.

"Your breathing is erratic. You're fidgeting too much. Goodness. You're not making for a very good anchor pillow for hammered little Luka, you know." Luka stated in third person, still face down on Miku's stomach, well aware that her voice was muffled and that her talking was tickling the other girl. Oh, she knew full well that this was teasing her; even in her drunken state her desire to endlessly torture Miku by putting her in perpetual embarrassment was still switched on. Luka also knew that Miku probably thought better of her, that she was making excuses in her head for her behaviour. The girl was a saint, really. If only she really knew Luka's sly intentions. She decided to cut the nervous girl a break however, and laid her cheek against her stomach instead, eyeing Miku as she did so, noticing her rather awkward arm placement on the couch.

"…What ar—no, Miku." She pointed to her own head of hair. "Pets. Now. I demand them. If you are going to be such a fidgety pillow, fidget in my hair." Luka's tone was more rational, which just contrasted her request; in which her reasoning made no sense.

Miku was still immensely red and confused, so she complied with Luka's demands, not really seeing anything wrong with it. Luka herself smiled contentedly once she felt the light movements on her head; her body calming down and cooling, helping her combat off the effects of the booze she so readily indulged in.

It wasn't like Luka teased Miku to be mean or anything. She knew it was a bit cruel of her to do so; she knew the teen well enough to understand that she didn't dislike what she was doing anyways. Luka took advantage of that, finding a sort of grand amusement from seeing the biggest idol of the moment so shy and flustered from such normalcies like hinting at the possibilities of attraction. All in all though, it was just all for amusement, she didn't really mean much from it, though she did feel at times she was downright bullying her. Regardless, Luka was quite attached to her younger co-star; their duet had proven that they were quite compatible, both in their voices and in their personalities. When rumours sprung up that the two were actually in some sort of forbidden love as 'magnet' had narrated, she found herself amused more than anything. Both girls knew the implications of the song as they had worked on it, and Miku was surprisingly accepting of the scenario that was in front of her. Luka thought she'd be more hesitant about it, considering the content; and it just made her wonder if Miku had such tendencies. Luka herself found no issues with romances and thought that walls couldn't really be set up when it came to tales of the heart. With the two so accepting of it, even the staff couldn't help but wonder if there was something going on between them.

Once Luka acknowledged the mood that set upon them after such speculations arose, Miku started getting flustered. It tickled Luka's mischievous side greatly to see her seasoned co-worker so worked up and she just wanted to see her reddened face more and more. She started off innocently enough, giving her sly winks and blowing kisses jokingly whenever they were in the studio and working on the song, but eventually, she got so into it that she _might_ have ended up starting a rumour or seven on the internet about them. The explosion of speculation amongst fans wasn't entirely home brewed. Eventually, Miku's walls and apprehensions came down as they worked together; both realizing that they could relate to each other pretty well. They became good friends throughout the course of the recordings and promos, though Luka would still have debauched tendencies around Miku, and Miku would still get flustered like the 16 year old that she was. Luka played innocent all too well however, keeping her lady like appearance and attitude towards everyone else and everyone that speculated anything about them thought that it was Miku that was the one who was hopelessly in-love since she was the one that seemed to be flushed a complete tomato red at all times.

In a sense, they weren't entirely mistaken as it was Miku that was more aware of her feelings; Luka being more aloof about it all. Though it was hardly anything anyone could call a tangible manifestation of such feelings. She just acknowledged that she got flustered more often than not around the older woman, especially when said woman was taking on such a playful attitude so casually. She suspected and pretty much knew it was all play, and though Miku really had been focusing more on her music rather than things like love and dating, her mind couldn't help but come up with scenarios she found to be not too unpleasant. Scenarios like the one she was in right now. Her hand lazily stroked the pink locks below her.

A white ribbon entered her view as Rin sat down on the sofa adjacent to the couch, staring intently at Miku. Luka's head was turned away from the world; not that she would have seen Rin anyways; since her eyes were closed.

"Be careful, Miku", the older Kagamine warned with a teasing tone to her voice. Luka's habits had gotten to her. "That woman's completely deceived you. She's not as innocent as she seems. I mean look at us!" Rin motioned to her brother, drunkenly playing air drums and spinning around to the song lowly playing throughout Luka's condo, "She's gotten minors intoxicated. My brother is a lost cause; and now she's seduced you! Once she's done pulling you into her traps, it'll be me!" Rin dramatically put the back of her hand to her flushed face, "Oh, what will I do!"

Luka decided then to shift position off of Miku, her legs draping over the front of the couch and sitting like a normal person would; letting the girl next to her have some room to herself. She looked at the blonde on her sofa, "Oh, yes, the sly Luka has deceived you all!" She grinned, "By inviting you over and letting you all raid her cabinets to find Meiko's one true love, alcohol, and putting on some music as you all played a silly drinking game; and drinking the rest of it all to save you from alcohol poisoning!" She clutched her chest dramatically and put on her best crestfallen expression.

"Says the one that declared her guests shouldn't be drinking so much when the host is sober… and how she wouldn't lose to them." Miku stated flatly, throwing facts at Luka in retort for all the teasing; she looked away and put on her best 'I'm completely innocent' face… which wasn't working to well considering that her face was still clearly showing her tipsy state.

Luka leered at her, but couldn't exactly retort. Rin snickered at the exchange.

The melody changed on Luka's speakers as Gumi's 'Poker Face' started up. Len cheered even though the volume was low, since Luka had the reasonability to mind the sound for her neighbours. The younger Kagamine raised the drum sticks he held in his hand and started hitting an invisible hi hat in tune with the song as he dance and twirled. The boy was definitely a fan. "I want to dance like you, Luuuukaaa~" A drunken slur of words meant to be a compliment reached their ears.

Luka observed him going at it in her kitchen, "Shouldn't someone take care of him? I mean, next to me, I think he drank the most." He looked at the two girls and they just returned her a deadpan expression, "He's going to puke if he doesn't calm down and rest for a bit. The alcohol will just come right back up." She looked at Rin. Rin gave her nothing in exchange. "I should know. I was about to puke on Miku not too long ago." Luka confessed and looked at Miku. Miku was too busy closing her eyes and putting her head in her hand, half trying to gauge how intoxicated she was, half taking in the fact that Luka had almost vomited on her. Luka sighed, "Okay, I'll do it. I guess I'm the one that doesn't want him puking all over my furniture anyways." Rin flashed her a victory grin, not wanting to deal with her brother in the state that he was in.

As Luka got off the couch to attend to the overexcited Kagamine, Rin took the opportunity to grab Miku off the couch and out onto Luka's balcony. The older teen followed, welcoming the cool and fresh air. She was seriously starting to get a headache. Rin leaned over the railing and looked at her best friend, who was trying to gain composure of some sort, "You okay, Miku?" The teal haired girl nodded at the question, taking a few deep breaths to enjoy the air. Rin smiled, eyeing the pink tint on Miku's cheeks, "You didn't even drink that much, are you really that drunk?"

Miku offered her a meek expression, "No, I can hold my own thoughts and actions quite fine right now, thanks."

Rin expected such a response and dove right in to attack, "Oh? Are you just red because of Luka then?"

Miku's eyes widened and whipped her attention immediately to the younger girl, "What? No. Maybe. What! Rin! Why are you asking that? Maybe, okay? She like, cornered me on the couch and got on top, who wouldn't be red?" Her response ran off track, trying to justify her reactions as she talked even though she knew Rin was just teasing her. Luka had definitely been an influence on the blonde.

"Oh? I didn't see you pushing her away~" Rin found it all too easy to tease Miku once she really put her mind to it. She hand known the older girl for years now. Someone couldn't just be someone else's best friend for years without knowing a thing or two about their habits and thought processes.

Miku gave her and exasperated expression, shaking her head to no one in particular, "I did. I tried. She asked me to lend her my stomach. It was super effective. I almost hit myself in confusion." She replied to Rin in a manner that she would find amusing; Rin's habits got to her like Luka's got to Rin's, although Rin's habits consisted more of geeky things like games and anime—it got to her regardless and Miku found her speech to sometimes include a reference or two every now and again or using a term that was quite niche.

Rin raised an eyebrow, "Do you like her, Miku?" She knew it was a futile question to ask, she could tell the older girl was still clearly confused about how she felt about everything. Ever since she started working with Luka, Rin could tell that confusion pretty much became a permanent trait for Miku; still, she was curious to know what the other girl would say.

"Yes. I do. Who wouldn't like her?" Miku offered innocently enough, once again, not quite catching the mood fast enough. "Wait. Do you mean—ah, oh, you do. I…" she trailed off, closing her eyes to ponder the question presented to her. She heard muffled voices inside, what sounded like Luka trying to soothe the younger drunk Kagamine to calm state.

"I'm not really sure, Rin. She's really nice, and I don't really have a problem with the fundamental stuff like being in a relationship with another girl… though I guess in a sense, she's really made me think about my own sexuality. I'm not really sure. My heart beats really fast when she's around me, and I feel like I'm about to get a heart attack every time she teases me, so I can't really deny the fact that I feel… _something_ at the very least." She looked at her younger friend and pulled her into a close and tender hug, ignoring the voices inside the condo. Rin let Miku express what she needed to, acknowledging the embrace by putting her hands on Miku's arms.

"When she does this with me, I know she's joking for the most part, but my chest tightens up and I feel like I'm about to explode." Miku explained further, "Honestly, I can't say if it's because it's her of it's because of the intimate contact alone…" She looked at her friend for a moment and tightened her embrace a little more for a second, " …but I can say without a doubt that there are some feelings that are present when she does this with me that aren't exactly here when I hug you like this." She sighed and rested her head against the blonde mess of hair. After a short silence, she added, "I'm not all too interested in relationships right now. I think. Aside from school, what I really want to work on is music."

Rin nodded quietly, letting herself relax in Miku's arms. She found nothing wrong with Miku's feelings, she pretty much already knew how Miku felt anyways. She was a workaholic who somehow managed to juggle working on a few songs at once and studying at the same time. Still, she _was_ a sixteen-year-old girl and Rin figured some kind of romantic interest would blossom; though just like she would, Miku would probably shrug it off to work on music. She knew it'd stay prominent in her mind though. Her actually telling her that Luka incited such thoughts in her just confirmed it.

At first, Rin thought it was weird that Miku was always so embarrassed around Luka, and even thought that it might have been a little too unusual or wrong for Miku to like another girl, but such thoughts didn't last long. Rin wasn't closed minded, she was just apprehensive about things that she knew nothing about. So when Rin herself started developing a sort of attraction towards a small peach haired girl with a strangely strong voice and an affection for all things Hello Kitty in her school's music club, her apprehensions quickly faded away and she sympathized with Miku's confused feelings more than anything—but she made sure that wasn't readily known. Rin kept her composure and never lost face, especially with such _trivial_ matters like romance. She couldn't have people knowing that she was swayed by things like crushes and what not.

They kept the embrace, half keeping themselves warm and half needing an anchor to stand with the alcohol still affecting them and their balance. They heard more noises from the inside, further inside now and it sounded like there was an echo as well. It didn't sound like it was too rowdy anymore, so Rin figured that her twin had managed to calm down somewhat. Miku heard Luka's soothing voice coming from the same direction as the echoes and what sounded like grunts… and crying? Her closed eyelids creased as her eyebrows furrowed, what had happened in there anyways?

Rin seemed to be thinking the same as Miku as she pulled away from the warm hug, looking towards the closed door as if she was trying to see through the curtains and the walls.

Almost on cue, Luka pushed the curtains aside and opened the sliding door, looking at the two in their loose embrace, eyebrows raising to give a questioning look that quickly faded away as she stepped outside, feeling the bite of the cold on her skin. Somehow, she ended up with only her short sleeved dress shirt on, the vest and jacket she wore just moments before suddenly nowhere to be seen.

"Your brother needs some help. I need some help." Luka looked at Rin and motioned inside in the general direction of her bathroom, "He was moving around too much and well, like I said…" she trailed off, letting Len's distant grunts and coughs speak for her.

Rin rolled her eyes and pulled away completely from Miku, swiftly making her way from the balcony and to the bathroom just beyond the kitchen. Luka gave a sigh and took in the fresh, unscented air outside. Holding up the young boy's hair and soothing him as he puked what he drank earlier was certainly a smell she wouldn't be getting attached to anytime soon. Or ever, really. She welcomed the slight breeze and shivered a little, looking at Miku. She was a little envious of Rin; she wanted that warmth too. "Are you two dating?" Luka's lips moved before her mind could even process what she was asking the teal haired girl.

Miku blinked and widened her eyes slightly at the shivering girl in front of her; she wasn't expecting that question, "Wha…? Me? Rin?" She shook her head, realizing that the embrace they were in had certainly made it look something as such, "No, that'd be kind of weird. She's my best friend… and we were just cold, really." She observed the woman once again. She wore nothing but a thin dress shirt and short shorts. "Like I imagine you're cold right now."

Luka glanced down at herself for a moment and simply nodded, "I am cold."

Miku shook her head slightly, walking forward towards the inside and pulled the older woman along with her, "Let's go inside. It's warmer. Also, I think Rin might need some help with Len, considering _you_ needed help with Len. "

Luka nodded again. Len had been puking in her bathroom ever since she got him to stop drumming and dancing around, the alcohol clearly being rejected by his liver as punishment for not letting it settle before he did so much activity.

"Luka, what the hell? Hahaha—oh, sorry Len! I'll hold it up."

Miku gave Luka a questioning look as she heard Rin's amused voice and Luka smiled, opening the door to the bathroom to let Miku in first. Miku snorted at the sight, her state of mind not entirely letting her hold back the laughter that threatened to escape.

"Oh my goodness, ahaha… Len, you look… fabulous." Miku observed the younger boy as Rin held up his bangs and kept his… flowing locks from draping over the toilet. Luka kept a serene smile as she let the girls take in the view. Before she had left the bathroom to get reinforcements, she had put a layered wig on Len. It was one of the ones she used whenever she needed to go incognito in public, and it was quite well done. The layers tapered from black to a loud shade of orange and finally into a golden yellow in a punkish style that gave off an air that Luka certainly did not naturally possess. She made sure Len knew how much the hair piece was worth before she took off to get the other two girls; forcing him to hold it and his own hair up as he humbly gave his offering to the porcelain gods. It wasn't that she was bullying the boy; doing what she did just forced him to keep his mind focused so he wouldn't pass out, all the while keeping his hair free of the stench that would surely soak in if he managed to vomit on it.

"Uhhh…." Len gave a dazed grunt and steadied himself by putting his hands on the tank of the toilet in front of him the moment he felt his sister hold his hair away from his face. How did it come to this? He was just rocking out to Gumi's songs when suddenly he felt the heat rise in his body and Luka immediately guided him to her bathroom. That woman was psychic. He was convinced. Luka flushed the toilet and he watched as the world in front of him turned into a swirling mass. "I think I've puked all I could… ughh…" Len shook his head, tears escaping his eyes from the exertion he just experienced.

"Give yourself some time here. It might come rushing right back up," Luka advised to the young boy as she looked at Miku who was still lingering near the door frame, "Miku, sweetie, do you mind getting Len a glass of water?" She requested, not wanting Len to get dehydrated.

Miku looked at her and nodded, taking slow steps towards the kitchen, but not immediately going to the cabinet to grab a clean glass. Instead, she made her way over to her bag and rummaged through her things before grabbing a small container. After getting what she needed, she quickly took out a short, wide glass from the cabinet and started filling it up with cold water, her lips tugging up at the corners as she did so. Luka's simple gesture of calling someone "sweetie" was certainly a habit of hers and she used it on nearly everyone. It accentuated her proper and gentle nature quite well, but Miku found it to be deceiving at the same time; though she figured she was the only one who knew that Luka possessed quite a fox-like nature to her as well. Still, even if she knew such things, Miku found silly simple habits like pet names to be quite endearing.

Miku pushed the cold glass of water to Len's face, getting a jump out of the small boy as he looked at its contents, as if analyzing that it wasn't any more of the poison he had already consumed so much of… and consequently gotten rid of. Len quickly took the glass once he was convinced that it was indeed precious water, he gulped it all down in one go in a manner that reminded all of the girls of a man who had been wandering a desert without a drop of the simple liquid for days. Miku took the empty glass from his hand and set it down on the bathroom sink counter. "Are you okay, Len? Does it burn?"

Len nodded, gaining a bit more composure, but not exactly leaving his position in front of the porcelain seat. "I think so. I still feel queasy. It burnt my throat a lot." He sighed. Rin was still holding up his hair, both real and not and Luka kept steady next to them, her hand resting on the lever that triggered the flush. "Let me just calm down here… I still feel like I might puke…"

Miku nodded and looked at the two girls, both of which were thoroughly amused at the situation instead of disgusted. They were concerned about Len, yes, but the wig completely shifted the mood from what Len perceived it was and what it should have been. Miku dug around in the pocket of her black hoodie and took out the small container she had taken from her bag earlier and started shaking and hitting it against her palm; the container making a peculiar clicking sound as she did so. Len thought nothing of it as he put his hands back on the toilet tank to get a grip of himself so he could function normally; he was completely oblivious to the trio's mischievous expressions.

Rin and Luka observed Miku carefully as she opened the shaken bottle, "Make them look fabulous, Miku." Rin stated, trying to hide the playful grin that she displayed. Len could only wonder what she meant, but couldn't really pay his sister too much attention as he felt the need to heave once again, but nothing coming up from inside. He found it to be painful and exhausting; it felt event worse than actually throwing up. In the midst of his pain, he felt something cool and soft on his fingernails.

Nail polish.

He could tell immediately.

Rin often shared her activities with her twin, whether it was playing video games or reading manga or watching something. Len was grateful since Rin usually got her hands on some pretty interesting stuff; but at times, he also found it unfortunate since Rin would also include him in activities that one wouldn't really expect a boy his age to partake in. Like manicures. He had expressed his displeasure at first, but Rin would have none of it and threatened to not buy bananas for an entire month since she was the one in charge of their finances and she knew that Len often had at least one banana a day to accompany his meals. So, Len gave in and let her paint his nails whenever she felt the whim to do so; which thankfully for him, wasn't too often, and most of the time was just clear nail polish, which he didn't mind.

It was because of that that he knew the sensation he felt on his fingers was the touch of a small brush painting on his nails.

And it wasn't Rin. She was holding up his hair.

"Miku…?" He looked up a bit to see his friend contentedly painting away at his hand.

"Hm?" she replied, not even bothering to open her mouth. She was too concentrated on getting the golden yellow tint on all of his fingers. She was elated that he had them all perfectly laid out on the tank; not really caring too much that he was doing it more for support than anything.

"I don't think this is the time to be painting my—" Len paused and immediately turned his view onto the waters below his head once again; his argument defeated before it could even be said. Miku finished the last brush stroke on his pinky as Rin managed to unclip the wig from his head; Luka dutifully flushing the toilet after he had finished spewing what he definitely felt like the last contents of his stomach and liver. Miku looked over her work and nodded approvingly. She patted Len on the head and made her way to the kitchen again, empty glass bottle in hand so she could refill it and give it to the poor kid.

Len shook his head as he got up from his kneeling position, walking to the side a bit to reach the sink; running the water on cold and washing his face clean as Rin gave Luka back her wig. Miku didn't take too long to get more water and Len once again gladly drank what he now considered to be the elixir of all ailments; letting the cool liquid wash away the horrid taste on his tongue and soothe his burning throat. Luka opened one of her bathroom cabinets and pulled out a small hand towel to give to Len, "Are you okay now?" She prompted as she watched the boy dry his hands and face.

"Yeah. Ugh. Wow. How are you even standing right now? I know you drank more than I did." Len looked at her unbelievingly.

Luka shrugged and gave him a blank expression. Her face was still slightly red and she was most definitely drunk; but she could still hold her composure if the situation called for it, "Tolerance, I guess? Also, I wasn't the one trying to be a one-man-band-and-backup-dancer with air instruments earlier." She gave him a small pat on the head, "You shouldn't move around so much next time, sweetie." Luka advised, using the same endearment as she used towards Miku earlier, "And for now, you should rest. A lot. And drink a lot of water; unless you want to have a migraine tomorrow."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Rin stated, apparently 'it' referring to Len and whatever his mood might be in the morning, "Thanks Luka. I think I'll take him home and give him some food".

"Ah, are you sure you don't want to stay here? It's no issue, you know. Feel free to use whatever I have in my pantry as well." Luka offered, not wanting the young twins to exert themselves.

Rin smiled and dragged her brother onto her shoulder, the younger twin gladly using her for stability and support, "I know what you're thinking; but really, it's no bother. I think Len would be better off in his own bed right now and for tomorrow, in case he does end up puking again. Plus, I don't think you have enough bananas to cover what he'll want later." She stated, Len nodding through closed eyes at his sister's comments.

Luka gave them a peculiar look, not entirely understanding what bananas had to do with the situation, but she waved it off and insisted, "Really though, it must be a lot of effort… maybe not so much on your part, but…" Luka looked over at the weak and dazed Kagamine.

"I've got it. I've been dealing with his stupidity all my life; this is nothing I can't handle." Rin simply stated, managing to get an evil look from Len who only managed to retort a small nearly unnoticeable 'Hey!' at her. Rin then made her way onto the hallway, Len in tow, before Luka could protest again. Luka and Miku followed them, the teal haired girl taking the glass from the bathroom and setting it in the kitchen sink on the way to the entrance of Luka's condo. Rin quickly slipped her shoes on and looked at Miku as Len fumbled with his footwear, "Miku. I know you're drunk too." She accused, leering at her friend. Miku stayed silent but tensed up a bit, marking her guilty. Rin smirked, "I think you should stay with Luka." She finished, her grin all too ambiguous. Surprisingly, this statement flew right over Luka's head; probably due to her intoxicated state. Miku was all too aware what Rin was trying to get out of her and was about to retort when Len lost his balance and stumbled onto his sister's side.

"Sorry Rin. I have no balance." He apologized, not really realizing how obvious his statement was.

Rin took the opportunity to exit the room quickly before Miku could say anything to her, "I got that. We'll be going, guys." she shifted her arm around her brother, letting him use her as a balancer as he walked towards the stairs and eventually down onto the sidewalk where the Kagamine twins made their stumbling way towards their apartment building. Luka and Miku had trailed behind them up until the balcony of the stairway, where they just stayed and observed the two, wanting to make sure disaster didn't happen on the steps.

As soon as they reached flat ground, Luka sighed and started slowly walking back to her door. Miku observed her quietly, wondering how she could be wearing so little. Once Luka had noticed that the twin-tailed girl was not following her, she turned and searched, finding Miku still by the railings. Luka cocked her head to the side, "You don't have to stay there until they're out of sight, you know. They live about two blocks down, they'll be fine." She crossed her arms in an effort to stay warm and Miku nodded before taking stride forward to follow Luka back into the warm condo.

Once inside, Miku glanced at the clock. 1:13am. She closed her eyes and sighed at herself. How did it get to be so late? The last train had long since departed and the first one won't be arriving for hours. She looked at a yawning and quite drunk pink haired lady, "I'm sorry Luka."

Luka was surprised at the sudden apology, "Hm? What are you apologizing for, Miku?"

Miku bowed her head slightly in a sulking manner, "Well, I don't mean to impose upon you… you seem tired. The last train's already left… and well, I guess I'll—oh, wait! I can still call a cab!"

"That won't do." The pink haired girl stated immediately, "You are a guest, Miku. I am glad to have you over. You are welcome to stay." Her stern expression turned into a soft smile, "And I must admit, I was hoping you would. I wanted to talk about the collaboration that was proposed to us." She looked at the small idol in front her, reading her undecided expression, "But if you feel better being at your own place for tonight, I won't have you spending on a taxi. I'll drive you there myself." Luka grabbed her keys from the hook that hung on the wall adjacent to the door frame.

Miku furrowed her eyebrows at Luka, immediately grabbing the keys out of her hand and stared at her, unbelieving. Luka had a confused expression on her face, slightly shocked at Miku's sudden actions, "No!" The younger girl was slightly angry at hearing such a suggestion. In a softer voice, she explained, "No… don't even think about driving right now, Luka. Your face is still red, I know you're still drunk. Even if your face didn't give it away, actually. You drank almost as much as Meiko usually does." Miku put the keys back on the hook, "I'll stay. Just don't drive. That's too dangerous. Don't even suggest it…" her voice trailed, seriously concerned.

Luka reddened even more at her growing guilt, her expression akin to a scolded pup's. "I-I'm sorry, Miku. I didn't mean to upset you. I just didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable or force you to stay here. If you really must go, I will pay for your fare." She stepped closer to the sulking girl and brushed her bangs to the side, pulling her black hoodie down. "Thank you for your concern. I'd like for you to know that's not my usual behaviour; driving intoxicated, that is. But I don't think I'm going to be too convincing right now if I said that." She laughed lightly as her own statement.

Miku pouted, a little embarrassed at her sudden, impulsive actions and nodded, "It's not like I don't want to stay… I just didn't want to impose. I thought it'd be better if you got your rest since… well, since you are pretty drunk."

The older girl grinned, "You're right. I am. Drunk that is. Completely." She stepped onto her wooden flooring and towards the kitchen to take out a container of juice and poured herself a cup. "That's why I'd like to have your company. Alcohol doesn't really have much sedative effects on me. I'd like to stay up and talk about that proposal if you were willing to do the same."

Miku slipped out of her shoes and unzipped her hoodie half way, "All right. I guess I'll be imposing on you then…" she put her shoes to the side and walked to the kitchen to where Luka was standing.

"Alright!" Luka gave a small cheer and offered her the glass in her hand, "Vegetable juice?"

Miku took the glass, "Please."

The pair had settled into work mode, quickly throwing ideas about what the collaboration could be like, all the while praising and complimenting each other on various things; their voices for one, mutually agreeing once again that they harmonized quite perfectly, then they got into more simple things such as sales, rankings and eventually settling down onto the topic of the concert; Miku praising Luka's powerful presence and graceful dancing; Luka praising… or rather, teasing Miku about her songs and her outfits, drunkenly imitating the ever catchy Po-Pi-Po and the dance that went along with it. They had spent some hours chatting this way, Luka draped over her couch and Miku sitting on the sofa with her knees to her body. They had gotten some ideas for the producer to look over written down on a piece of paper, but in the end it was all really vague, with words like 'dancing', 'outfits', 'spinning', 'repetitive' and nothing that can really be called a coherent relation to any of the words on there.

Miku scratched her head with the pen in her hand, trying to come up with a base theme to tie all the key words together and was about to ask Luka if she had any opinions when she noticed that the girl she was about to inquire had her eyes closed, a peaceful expression on her face. Miku smiled, putting the pen and paper on the coffee table and got up to stretch, deciding to go back out onto Luka's balcony to think for a moment.

The short figure leaned over the railing and looked at the fading city lights in front of her, lost in thought for a good part of the hour, but gathering ideas all the same as she observed the black city skyline. She hummed out a tune playing in her head and made a mental note to record it later. With her eyes closed and head moving in time with the melody she heard in herself, she mouthed "one-two" and heard the sliding door open to reveal Luka stepping out onto the balcony towards her, wearing only her shorts and her bra, her shirt now nowhere to be found.

Miku stared. Unbelieving at first, then her gaze just lingered at Luka's figure. Gosh. She couldn't help it. "Luka… I… what? Aren't you cold?" She asked, a bit dumbfounded.

"No. It was hot." Miku looked at her incredulously and wondered if she had somehow gotten drunker by falling asleep on the couch. Luka walked towards her and put her hand on her hip, as if she was expecting Miku to already know the information she was about to give. "I got up from the couch and went to bed. My sheets and comforter. They're hot." Luka nodded at nothing in particular, making Miku all the more convinced her thought process wasn't all too clear. She figured Luka was delirious from intoxication and lack of sleep. It _was_ already way past the hour any reasonable person should be awake. Luka continued, "I couldn't find you. So I went to go look." She nodded again.

"Uh… huh." Miku gave a meek smile and unzipped her hoodie, draping it over the half-naked Luka as she spun her around to guide her back inside. The shorter girl slid the door closed and walked with Luka toward her room, the pink haired girl in question zipping up the hoodie she had received and pulled her arms inside, leaving the sleeves dangling. Miku shook her head and attested her strange behaviour to suspected delirium. She had walked Luka to her bedroom and once they had gotten there, Luka shot her arms out of the sleeves once again and let a piece of lacy garment fall to the ground. Miku observed it for a second and her eyes widened, "What—"

"It's hot." Luka gave her a simple justification.

Miku shook her head once again and didn't bother questioning her. Luka plopped down on her bed and rolled underneath her covers, letting out a yawn that she still found the energy to stifle with her hand in a manner that came off as nothing but ladylike. Miku stood by the side of the bed and poked Luka's hair, "Where do I sleep?" she prompted her tired host.

Luka murmured something for a moment as if she was trying to figure out where to send the girl before deciding it would be too much of a hassle to get out of her already comfortable bed to show Miku the guest room. She rolled again and faced the girl the best she could from her laying position and nodded to herself. Miku quirked her head akin to a curious dog's as Luka reached for her arm and pulled her onto the bed she currently occupied, "Here." Luka nodded. This was the best plan. It required little to no effort. She didn't have to get out of bed. She didn't have to walk. She didn't have to show Miku where was what.

It was clearly the best course of action.

Miku burnt up. The sudden fall was unexpected; she was just waiting for Luka to tell her which direction the guest room was. She hadn't expected to be pulled into bed with the older girl to sleep. Luka had somehow already wriggled the covers out from underneath and had covered both of them before Miku could even have a say about anything. Not that she minded sharing a bed; she was just confused. As usual. She tried to calm herself, seeing that Luka had already turned to the side and had her eyes closed, waiting for sleep to take over. Miku clutched the bedsheets and welcomed the warmth they possessed; she figured Luka really had gone to bed before looking for her. Long enough to keep the bed warm anyways. She closed her eyes and tried her best to let her dreams fill her mind but she was finding that she was being ridiculously shy about the situation; especially knowing that the girl next to her was pretty much only wearing her hoodie and short shorts. Goodness. Someone could really form an interesting analysis of the situation if they were to walk in and observe.

"Miku."

Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest. She was on the verge of sleep when the breathy voice called out to her.

"Are you uncomfortable?"

Miku turned her head towards Luka, who was now on her side facing Miku, her gaze gentle and concerned. "I'm okay," Miku responded, giving the pink haired girl a small assuring smile.

Luka nodded slowly, "I apologize about that. I'm still drunk." She rationalized with herself, "I realize that might have been quite rude." Miku shook her head, assuring her that she didn't mind, "Are you okay here? I can show you the guest room if you'd rather sleep elsewhere."

The small girl yawned as she shook her head again. She wasn't uncomfortable, she was just surprised. The warmth and Luka's reassuring presence wasn't unwelcomed either, "I'm okay. I like being next to you. I was just surprised is all." She gave as reason, her cheeks turning red at her late realization of the mood and what she had just said once more, "Ah. I mean. It's warm here. And I enjoy your company. I mean, in bed. In this bed. I… Argh? " Luka raised her eyebrows and gave her a teasing squint of the eye. "That's not what I—I just meant that it's not weird. And it's not unpleasant. I don't mind sleeping in the same bed as... you… I—"

Luka laughed a little and reassured Miku by swiping the stray strands of teal hair away from her face, "It's okay honey, calm down. I understand what you mean." She smiled and pet Miku's head gently, "I'm glad you don't find this unpleasant. I enjoy your company as well." She took her hand back and laid it against her pillow, gazing at the calming girl next to her, finding the soft pink tint to her expression rather cute and she felt a slight guilty pang in her, "I don't mean to get you so flustered. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me; so if I end up making you feel like that, please do say so."

Miku shook her head again and smiled. Again. "Don't worry, I understand you too. Even if you can be a bit cruel with it sometimes." She grinned jokingly, throwing a teasing retort back at Luka. "I'm tired."

They both nodded. "Time to sleep." Luka stated, shifting to a comfortable position, body facing the ceiling but slightly towards the other girl; Miku's form imitating Luka's, her back turned away. Luka smiled and closed her eyes. "Goodnight."

Miku yawned a bit and let the heavy feeling of sleep set onto her. "Goodnight, Luka."

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><p><em>Author's Notes (again): So there's that. Am I moving too slow? Gosh, I always feel like I'm moving to slow. My pacing is a little different than most fanfictions, I guess. I'm sorry there's so little actual plot so far. I was just trying to establish relationships in this chapter, but I guess I didn't really get much into that either. Aaaaah. Hopefully I don't bore all of you.<em>

_Then; until next time._


	3. About to Melt

**The Distance These Hands Can Reach**

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><p>Chapter 3 – About to Melt<p>

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><p><em>Author's Notes: Apologies this took so long. I had some short-term classes start last week as well as midterms for my current classes. I had this ready for release a bit ago since I finished chapter 5. I wanted to release it on Halloween, so here it is. Things will start to get interesting around this chapter.<em>

_Once again, sorry for the length; they're going to get longer with the next few ones. There's a little bit of candy in this one for you though._

_Enjoy._

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><p>A catchy 8-bit tune filled the confines of a neat little condo. Dark curtains fluttered lightly against the pane, blocking out the piercing light just beyond; and the ceiling fan made a slight whirring sound as it cooled the room in which two women lay tangled in a mass of bedsheets. The smaller figure started to stir, the digital melody seeping to her dreams and forcing her awake.<p>

Miku opened her eyes and was met with a heavy weight and a mess of pink hair. She blinked a few times, trying to take her unfamiliar environment in, yawning and wondering why she couldn't move her arms. She wriggled around for a bit and looked down on herself, seeing a plethora of pink in her view, completely over her body and her arms, preventing her from getting up and answering the melodic tune of her phone in the other room.

"Luka…" She wriggled some more, getting her right arm free, it being the farthest away from the young pinkette's iron grip. Miku patted the head of the woman on top of her lightly, intending to wake her up. Inciting no response, she started running her fingers through the mass, tidying it up as she spoke, "Luka. Get up. My phone is ringing." Luka grunted annoyedly, still mostly asleep, but slowly coming to, "Please? Lukaaaaaaa…" Miku sighed and recalled the events of the night before; remembering exactly how drunk Luka had gotten… and how drunk Len had gotten. The talks for the rest of the waking night when the Kagamines left had lasted for some hours as well and Miku couldn't really blame Luka for being dead weight at the moment.

Though, she really had to get to her phone. That tune told her it was Takanashi. The respectful manager never called unless there was something important to say in terms of recording or producing, and Miku definitely wanted to know any news regarding her music. Luka was preventing her from getting the information she craved. She considered smacking her on the head for a moment, but immediately decided it'd be rude. It was something she would have done to the Kagamines, but the mood that settled between her and Luka was different and that kind of action would just be plain uncalled for.

The tune drowned out.

Miku sighed. A missed call. The teal idol relaxed her body on the mattress again, figuring she could just call back after Luka had gotten her fair share of rest. The woman, though still pretty much asleep, seemed to understand Miku's decision, her body losing the tension from being disturbed earlier.

The room's sounds drowned back to the whirring of the ceiling fan, the circulating air making the dark curtains dance around ever so slightly as Miku started slowly drifting back to sleep. She had no idea what time it was, but she figured she hadn't slept much if her body was still willing to knock out again so easily. Her breathing slowed to match the pace of the girl on top of her, and she found the weight to be oddly comforting as her eyelids relaxed and—

The same 8-bit tune rang out once again.

Miku's eyes shot open. She really wanted to answer that phone call.

Disregarding manners for a second, she decided not to try and wake Luka, but to just bolt up, rolling over the woman and off the bed in one swift—and for Luka, rather terrifying motion. Miku's feet landed on the wooden flooring and she quickly made her way to Luka's living room to quickly retrieve her phone out of her bag, immediately silencing the tune.

"Hello?" Miku greeted, already knowing who would be on the other end.

Sure enough, Takanashi replied, "Ah! Miku! Finally. I've been trying to get to you all day!"

"All day?" Miku wondered for a moment—she had only heard her phone ring twice, right? The small lapse in consciousness earlier couldn't have lasted too long. She held the device away from her ear for a moment to glance at the system's clock. 2:37pm. "Holy… Ah, sorry Takanashi-san. Luka… Last night… I… overslept? I heard the phone ring, but I couldn't get up. I was kind of trapped." She replied, innocently once again; starting to slowly walk back to the bedroom she so quickly left.

Takanashi found her incomplete reasoning to be rather scandalous, "Luka? You spent the night with her?"

Miku blinked, "Yeah. I'm at her place right now. We've been sleeping… well, I just got up. Luka's still asleep, actually. Oh. No, I lied, she's getting up now."

Miku looked at the wide-eyed woman sitting up, taking in her surroundings in a panicked fashion, making sure she was all still there. She looked at Miku, incredulous, scared, confused; question marks nearly protruding from her head. "Wha… what's-why-wh…" Luka stared at the girl talking into the small device and decided to re-check herself and her surroundings once again, making sure that the world wasn't in apocalypse as much as her body acted like it was.

"Miku. You… uh. It's the afternoon now, you realize?" Her manager sounded exasperated.

"Yeah. Sorry. I didn't have anything planned for the studio today, did I?"

"No. You're free aside from that collaboration I told you about… but…"

Miku tilted her head, slightly confused as to why Takanashi's voice would sound so… cautious? And… embarrassed? "But?"

Takanashi paused for a moment, wondering how to phrase the slightly awkward question to the young star, "Is… Are… well, did you sleep together?"

Miku blinked again, wondering how her manager seemed to know such things, "Yeah, actually. How did you know?"

The young manager stayed silent for a moment, trying to take the information in.

"Takana—oh. No, Nononono, that's not what I meant!" Miku quickly stated, realizing that her words had once again conveyed the wrong meaning. She needed to work on that. "I meant, Luka… she drank a lot? And she didn't show me the guest room and she just pulled me into bed with her."

"What! Megurine…? Would she? That doesn't sound like her. Did she do anything to you?" A concerned and slightly appalled tone rang through the lines.

"Do somethi—, what, no!" Miku took a deep breath, looking at the woman in question. Luka had just now calmed down, finally convinced it wasn't the end of the world and was starting to get out of the bed; Miku finally remembering that her companion wore nothing but the black hoodie she had given her the night before—and it was half unzipped—and a pair of short shorts. The taller girl stood up to stretch, giving Miku a gratuitous view and a red tint to her face. "We just drank a lot. We slept. That's all." She finally gave to her manager, tearing her eyes away from the yawning woman.

Luka stretched a bit more, getting her body ready for the day; watching the perpetrator of such horrifying events talk so casually on her handheld. The pink haired girl walked over, putting her hands in the hoodie pockets and faced the small girl as she talked, putting on her best angry pout and stared straight into her eyes, "Goodness, Miku, what were you thinking? I nearly had a heart attack when you jumped off the bed like that!" Luka huffed, "That phone call better be important, sweetie. Really. I thought the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse had come to start Ragnarok."

"I think you got some myths mixed up there." Miku replied, blinking at the older woman. "And I'm sorry. It was the ringtone I use for Takanashi-san and you wouldn't get off of me and I couldn't move and I really wanted to answer it considering what we were talking about last night and stuff." Her apology came at Luka entirely too fast for the sleepy girl to process.

Luka held up her hand before the smaller girl could say any more, "Okay. Okay. It's fine. I'm going to—" _'Ya—ho~'_ a tune familiar to all three listening rang out through the condo. "Oh. That's mine." Luka stated, starting to walk outside her bedroom and into the kitchen where she had left her bag, Miku trailing behind, phone still on her ear, Takanashi being silent and listening to the exchange.

"You have… 'Dear Cocoa Girls' as your ringtone?" Miku looked at the older woman as she fished through her belongings to procure the thin device playing out Miku's famous summer beat; the image of a blue and white striped bikini burning in the back of their imaginations.

Takanashi let out a small chuckle.

Luka smiled at the other teal-eyed girl, smirking at her, "Ya—ho~" she gave as a response, answering her phone at the same time, making it her greeting as well; leaving Miku to just lower her head slightly as she turned and continued conversing with her manager.

Luka grinned and put the small device to her ear.

"Uh… Ya—ho~ to you too." A deeper yet unmistakably feminine voice greeted her senses, the confused tone not escaping Luka's attention, "It's Meiko."

Luka quickly shed away the teasing attitude that she held for Miku and properly greeted the woman on the other side of the conversation. "Ah, Meiko, I'm sorry about that, I was just teasing Miku here. How do you do?"

"Hey Luka. I'm alright. I'm actually calling because I needed something from your place real quick. Uh… last week, before karaoke… I think I left something there."

"Ah. Is that so?" Luka fidgeted around the hallway, going back to her room and Miku followed her, still on the phone, her actions going to auto. It just felt natural to follow the pink haired girl wherever she went.

Takanashi droned to the twin-tailed idol about the details of what may come after the pair had come up with a theme for the collaboration; Miku listening intently, cutting in when appropriate, "We actually got some things written down last night. I've got a melody in my head that I can't get out, so I'd like to get it recorded sometime soon." Takanashi was delighted at Miku's statements; telling the young girl to go to the studio to meet up with the producer and look over everything with both sides of the collaboration present; warning her to get it down on paper and recorded soon or it might escape her brain, the girl agreeing and continuing to tell her elated manager about the themes they had written down and the themes she thought of as she started at the night skyline.

Miku let full auto mode take over and sat down on Luka's bed. Luka though, was also in auto mode; getting all too comfortable in her own space; taking her shorts off underneath the borrowed black hoodie, leaving nothing but the half zipped garment and her panties on as she talked on her phone. In her mind, it was only natural to want to take a shower after waking. Miku's eyes widened and she looked away out of decency. This did not go unnoticed by Luka, who said a nearly inaudible 'oops' as Meiko explained on the other line that she _might_ have forgotten some alcohol at Luka's, and that she was running dangerously low of the burning liquid. "I'm actually outside your door. Since I was… uh. In the area."

Luka furrowed her eyebrows, walking once again out of her room and towards her hallway; Miku getting up to follow like a dependent puppy as she hung up on her conversation with Takanashi; concluding that she'll go to the studio soon enough to meet up and possibly record some basic melodies. The young manager told her that they needed to talk about something important concerning issues about promos and public image or some sort, but told her not to worry about it until they met. She shrugged it off for now and the girl she was following had gone towards her front door and was about to open it when Miku tried to ask, "Luka, is someone here? Shouldn't you put on so—" but her concern was unheard and unfinished; Luka letting the light of the outside world into her condo.

Surely enough, the doorway revealed Meiko standing outside the entrance; at first with a nice, greeting expression, then immediately turned into raised eyebrows, a little shocked, a little embarrassed, a little… expected, she thought, taking in the scenario before her.

"Uh… congrats?" The brunette stated questioningly, pulling the small device away from her head and hanging up before putting it in her pocket.

"Oh, Meicchi. Hello~" Miku cheerfully greeted, forgetting for a moment about Luka's indecent state. "Congrats?" She repeated, confused.

Luka caught on. She immediately remembered what clothing… or what little clothing, rather, she had on and Meiko's surprised stare made it obvious. A mischievous smile grew on her features as she acted embarrassed, her eyes gazing away, her expression flustered and she put a shy hand to her face as if to cover the feelings that she tried to act out, "Oh my… I didn't want you to find out like this, Meiko…" Miku looked over at her pink host, raising an eyebrow, her eyes questioning as to what Luka could have been referring to. She got her answer soon enough as Luka continued to 'explain' to Meiko about the scene before her, "I had wanted to tell you properly… about Miku and myself. She… well, she was really gentle and considerate… she even lent me her hoodie to cover myself just now." Luka batter her eyelashes at the tealette, completely enjoying the expression on her face. It was the expression that made her want to tease the girl more and more every time she was near.

Miku threw her hands in the air, not really knowing what else to do with them in the state of shock and disbelief she was in, "What! Are you implyi—Meiko-san, I did no such thing!" She stared at the brunette at the doorway.

Meiko was used to Luka's antics around the teal idol, and having caught on; she decided to join in the teasing a little bit, "Oh. It's okay, Miku I understand." Meiko nodded, the smaller girl calming a little bit at her statement, "So you were rough with her?" The brunette tried in earnest to hold back the urge to snicker at the expression Miku made.

Luka never lost her composure, her eyelids lowering at the implied actions, her blush growing deeper and she turned away slightly in feigned embarrassment.

Miku's jaw dropped, "Don't act like I really was rough!" She shook her head immediately, "Actually, don't act like I even did anythiiiing!" She whined and pouted at the two older women who held teasing streaks to put Loki to shame.

Pink and Brown laughed, Luka petting Miku on the head slightly as she let Meiko inside, the older woman starting to take her boots off. "Sorry, love." Teal eyes smiled at its matching pair, "We don't mean anything by it. But I must admit, it's too fun and too easy to tease you."

Meiko shoved her boots off her feet and spaced them neatly on the entrance, "I think Luka enjoys it way too much though."

Miku pouted and looked at her brown-haired cohort, "Right?" She let out a huff and stared at the pink haired woman who had at least zipped up the sweater she wore, "I know you're messing around but I can't help it…" she sighed and blushed slightly at her own small confession.

"Oh?" Luka's ears perked up, "Could it be that you are developing real feelings for me?" She stifled a giggle as she walked towards her kitchen, the two other ladies taking their place in the living room; Miku on the couch and Meiko on the sofa.

Miku turned her head to leer at the girl in the kitchen preparing some tea, not really knowing how to respond other than giving her such a look.

Meiko laughed again. "Well, that wouldn't be too unexpected. Honestly, when I first saw you guys, I thought I was… uh… interrupting something."

The young girl involuntarily gave her best tomato impression, "I tried telling her to put something on…" she offered meekly. The red-clad brunette didn't quite understand, but figured whatever transpired before her arrival wasn't anything lewd.

The sound of a water heater boiling reverberated quietly through the kitchen and into the living room, the pink haired girl turned to face her guests once more and she gave nothing but a shrug to them, "Meiko was already here. I didn't believe her when she said it, so I just wanted to check. How was I supposed to know she was actually there?"

Two sighs were let out by the other girls, "Because I said I was here?" Meiko replied, "And I don't kid about alcohol. You should know that by now." The brunette ran her fingers through her hair and looked again at the girl who was now dispensing the hot water into a small tea pot, "Speaking of which…?" She trailed off, assuming the girl would understand her prompt.

"Ah, about that." One teaspoon. Two teaspoons. Three teaspoons. She let the loose sencha leaves fall into the strainer inside the pot and turned over a small hourglass as she spoke, "I'm pretty sure there's not much left."

The brunette looked at her incredulously, "What? I left like, 7 bottles here? Don't tell me you two really did get shitfaced drunk and had wild lesbian sex?"

A few clinks were made as Luka brought the tray with the teapot and three teacups to the table. "Goodness, Meiko. Such language." She lightly scolded the short haired woman, a tone of amusement in her voice, "Sadly no, there was no hot lesbian sex." Miku put her head in her hands, trying not to justify Luka's passive teasing by replying, "We just had a little celebration last night for the concert. Miku here and the Kagamines had their dabble in some silly drinking game. Len drank most of it, but Rin and Miku got their share too; I had to stop them before Len could lose anymore. I think they were teaming up on him. Anyways, I drank the rest to save him from any further damage, but he ended up giving it all back to the sewage system not too long after." She looked at the counter where she had earlier prepared the drink in front of her, confirming that the hourglass had let all the grains fall through, indicating three minutes had gone by before she took the strainer out of the teapot, letting it sit on a small flat bowl on the tray after it had drained and putting the lid back on to pour the hot liquid in all three cups, offering them to the twin tailed girl and the brown and red woman and both happily took the soothing liquid.

Meiko took a sip and sighed, resting the petite cup on the coffee table, "I guess that makes sense… so do you have none left? I'm seriously out. Kaito and Lily were having their own festivities the other night too." Luka raised an eyebrow at her, "…I took part too, of course" she added, feeling the judgemental gaze Luka was giving her. "Anyways, I have but one bottle of sake left. And since I usually bring bottles here and forget about them when I have to go home, I figured you had some…?"

Luka quietly finished her cup of tea before delicately setting it down on her coffee table, standing up and pulling down the hoodie she wore to show _some_ sort of decency, though it didn't really work as she had entirely too much skin exposed regardless. She walked over to the overhead cabinets in her kitchen where she usually kept Meiko's 'gifts'.

Miku watched her, enjoying the tea as she commented, "Ah, I think I saw a few bottles in the left cabinet last night. I don't think we touched those."

Meiko beamed hopefully.

"Hm…" Luka tiled her head and made her way over to the cabinet Miku referred to, opening it to reveal quite a few bottles of alcohol that had indeed not been touched by underaged hands. "Oh, you're right." She took out the bottles of liquor, counting mostly sake and vodka amongst them and set them on the kitchen counter.

Meiko quickly finished her tea and made her way next to the pinkette, "So I'll be taking these then~" she hastily stated, the fear of lacking alcohol had gotten to her, "To be honest, were celebrating tonight too. Lily is bringing over Gakupo and since we haven't seen him in a while, we thought… well. Yeah."

"Oh, really? Give my regards to Gakupo, I guess we will all need to meet up soon." Luka nodded, trying to remember the last time she saw the purple, ponytailed man.

"Oh! Is he bringing his cousin?" Miku cut in, excited at the news.

The short haired lady nodded at her, "Yeah, he mentioned Gumi was coming along with him. I don't know if she's going to be there tonight though."

"Len would be so excited to know…" Luka laughed, "He's a big fan. He rocked out to her songs until he couldn't stand. Until he puked, actually. True story."

Meiko smiled awkwardly, wanting commented on her wasted drinks but bit her tongue about it and took the bottles in her arms and started making her way to the entrance, putting the bottles on the floor as she put her boots on, "Well, I guess I should be going. I don't want to impose too much on your… personal time." She gave Miku a suggestive look. The smaller girl shook her head and buried her face in her hands once again.

Luka smiled, giving Miku a break by not adding to Meiko's remarks. She ran her hand through her soft, rosy locks and made her way to where Meiko was, opening the door for the woman carrying 5 bottles in her arms.

"Well, give me a call if you wanna come along later or another day. Internet Co.'s given them a little break, so they'll be here for a while." Meiko stated, walking out and down the pathway to the stairs as Luka replied 'Will do.' to the retreating figure.

Pouring herself another cup of tea, Miku observed Luka as she closed the door. She had no idea how she managed to keep herself composed, especially when she was essentially being an exhibitionist in front of the two women earlier.

Luka sighed, unzipping the hoodie halfway again as if hearing Miku's thoughts; making the small girl nearly choke on her tea. "Gosh, who comes over at such an early hour? To get alcohol at that. I know she loves the stuff, but this early in the day? Really." Luka questioned to no one in particular.

"It's nearly three in the afternoon, Luka." The tealette flatly stated.

The pink haired woman looked around the condo, her eyes landing on her clock, which clearly read 2:56. "Oh. So it is." She blinked and looked at her curtains, keeping in her mind that they really did block out the sun all too well and gave her a false sense of time. She sighed and sat down on her couch next to the teal haired idol and poured herself another cup of tea as well, enjoying the beverage as she pulled her mind to fully wake up.

Another clink was heard as Miku put down her tea cup and rested her elbow on the arm rest of the couch, recalling how she had been trapped in the very same corner just several hours before. "I dreamt about you."

It was Luka's turn to lose face and nearly choke on her tea, "Ah, excuse me." She cleared her throat, "What was it about?" She thought for a moment what Miku's dreams might have been, all leading to a debauched conclusion. At the back of her mind, a rather interesting image popped into view, reminding her that she had a dream about the teal idol as well.

The couch squeaked slightly as Miku shifted her weight onto it, bringing her legs up with her knees bent as she spoke, "It was kind of strange, actually…" she trailed off, wondering how she would explain such a… unique dream about Luka. The girl in question blinked and waited for her to finish her description, "Well. You were there, obviously. But you were only a head." Luka gave her a cautious look and moved her head away slightly from the girl, "But not like that. It wasn't gruesome or anything. You were just a head, but it was kind of cute. You had a real baby-like face and your hair was sentient."

Luka blinked several times, "Sentient?"

"Yeah. They were like… tentacles. You were like an octopus. Your head was the main body and your hair were tentacles and you got around that way. You seemed happy all the time and you were giving English lessons to the twins." Miku nodded as she recalled the events in her dream.

Luka furrowed her eyebrows and closed her eyes, trying to visualize Miku's description but shook her head once she got an image. She'd have to ask the girl to draw what she saw sometime later; everything she could imagine from Miku's description all turned out to be rather gruesome. "I'd like to say that's kind of strange, but I had a similar dream." Miku looked at her, cocking her head to the side in curiousity, "Not about me being an octopus. Or you being an octopus. But your hair was sentient too. Or some sense of it." She put her hand to her temples, trying to remember the scene, "Ah, Oh yeah. You could control your twin tails like they were separate limbs or something and you had Meiko 's hand tied up and above her head and you used the other to wrap… uh… around her thigh." Luka clutched her hand into a fist as if she was holding something and showed Miku, "And you had a welsh onion or a leek or something like that and you were holding it against her chest." Luka nodded seriously.

Miku shook her head. How did she know it would turn into something like that? She figured that it _was_ Luka's mind after all, she guessed something would go astray one way or another. "How do you come up with such things?"

"Oh, I was recording it too." Luka took another sip, shrugging slightly, "I don't know. It's just my brain dumping information, sweetie. I can't really make sense of it all. How did you come up with an octopus-me?" She looked at the girl, who struggled to find an answer. "See? Dreams are dreams, I wouldn't think too much on them. Though I'd like to know what you managed to visualize. I can't see it as anything but gruesome."

"It wasn't." Miku felt the need to state again. "Anyways, I'm just wondering if you manage to tease me in your dreams too. Sometimes I feel that's your sole purpose for hanging out with me." Luka gave her a slightly hurt look, "Sometimes. I know it's not, but well… yeah. How did you get to be so teasing anyways? No one would ever suspect…"

"Your fault." Luka closed her eyes and accused the girl who was shooting her a look akin to a carp out of water, "Really. It wasn't this bad until I met you and started working on that song." She opened one eye to peek at her companion, referring to 'magnet' as 'that song'. She grinned, "See?" She held her hands up to Miku's cheeks, "This reaction. It makes me want to do it more and more." She laughed a bit, letting Miku go and giving her a bright smile, "Honestly, I don't know. I like to see you flustered. You don't seem too bothered by it, so that makes me want to do it _even more_. Maybe I like the fact that I'm the one causing it? I'm getting in your head somehow." She winked playfully at Miku, "Gosh, Miku. Maybe I have a crush on you."

A feverish temperature slithered all over Miku's body, the heat showing on her face, her eyes wide at the sudden… confession? "Wha… I… but… oh… When—during…? All thi—but what abou.." A million questions coursed through her brain, but her mouth couldn't form a single one to prompt the girl staring blankly at her, "I-I-I-I d-d-don't think… I…? Wha…?"

Luka laughed and patted the panicked girl on the head, "Relax. I'm just kidding." She taller girl stood up, feeling a slight telltale pang inside her. Oh? What was that? She really was kidding. So why was it that when Miku reacted like she was about to reject her apparent confession that her chest tightened up? Goodness. "You're just really easy to tease is all. I'll stop doing it if it makes you uncomfortable." She felt the need to reassure the young girl.

The clock struck 3pm. Miku watched intently, averting her gaze from the woman. The sudden statement she presented, kidding or not, had her mind all jumbled up and her heart pumped with adrenaline and her entire being shook with anxiety. A few deep inhales helped her calm down. "No, it's not that…" She felt the overwhelming need to explain to the woman and to herself, how she felt about it all, "It's just that it makes me confused. You doing all that stuff. I might actually like you. No kidding." Luka stared at the girl giving a questionable confession seriously, staying silent, "Or I don't know. I'm sixteen and I know my feelings are getting to my head or something. Not that acknowledging that helps me any." She faced Luka, staring her in the eye, "I want to work on music, Luka. I don't want to be in any relationships right now. I know you were kidding for the most part, and I don't know how the conversation somehow turned out like this; I think I just needed to confirm with myself more than anything, but regardless, I just want to focus on music more than anything."

A smile crept on the older girl's face as she nodded seriously, "Haha, what's this? Did my teasing confession just get rejected?" She laughed lightly, "But I understand what you mean. I feel the same way, really. All this is just in good fun. Forgive me for being cruel."

The stare was not broken. Miku nodded, electricity in her eyes, "Good. I'm glad you feel the same way." Luka stared at her, getting a little nervous about Miku's intense stare. "Now kiss me."

A billion blinks could not clear up her surprise, "E-wh—pardon?" Luka was taken aback at the sudden request.

The stunning pair of teal orbs continued to stare, not really saying anything. Miku pouted cutely and Luka's heart strings were pulled ever so slightly. It was a sudden revelation that Miku reconciled with herself as she was explaining to Luka. Sure, she had pondered it before, but since she never got to any conclusion, this was the first time that she acknowledged that maybe she let Luka do all the teasing that she did because she liked the attentions the older girl gave her. Still, she had decided to focus on her work, but as she said, she _was_ sixteen years old and her emotions _did_ get to her. Before her brain could even process what she was saying; she had already made the request. A light blush was threatening to creep to her cheeks and she decided not to wait for the surprised Luka to make a decision as she carefully closed what little distance there was between their faces, hesitating at the last few centimeters. In that moment, from the closest she's ever been, she observed Luka's expression change from shock and surprise to something heavier. It wasn't anything innately bad, but Miku thought she saw a glint she hadn't seen before in the woman's eyes. Though they had not touched, she felt Luka's lips form a stern expression; then, a sudden softness that caught _her_ by surprise instead. It was her turn to blink.

Both held their positions, unmoving; the sudden softness on their lips left undisturbed.

Miku closed her eyes, letting a small exhale escape as she moved her lips, getting a slight jump out from Luka, but eventually the older woman eased into it as well; joining Miku's slow movements—the awkwardness of the initial action fading away.

You know, despite what they had said earlier about not wanting to focus on anything else but music, this wasn't all too bad…

Two loud, matching tones rang out from below, making the two girls jump away from their moment; their expressions displaying the same features as if they had been caught doing something much more debauched. They let out a synchronized sigh as they picked up their mobile devices; knowing the twins were trying to contact them; at the same time once again. Luka's had been ringing out with ' Daughter of Evil', Miku's with 'Servant of Evil'; the tones set for the respective sibling.

"Miku!/Luka!"

The two girls looked at each other, smiling awkwardly as they moved a bit away from each other, not really wanting to talk to the twins in the manner that they were in at the time.

"Meiko invited us over to her party later tonight and we were thinking you should come along too and ohmygod Gakupo/Gumi will be there later tonight with Lily and—"

It was kind of unsettling how the two matched sometimes. They let the twins break the speed of light once more, not bothering to greet them.

"—so you should come celebrate later tonight so all of us will be there!"

Miku looked over at her companion, a blush still present on her cheeks. She coughed to clear her throat, "Wanna go, Luka?"

Len gasped, "Ohmygod you're still at Luka's?"

Rin copied, "Ohmygod Luka, Did you actually seduce Miku?"

"I did no such thing, thank you" Luka stated, a bit of offense in her voice.

Miku coughed.

The pink haired girl caught herself looking and realizing what she had said, putting it all together with the events that had just transpired, adding a quick "I think." To her statement.

"Are you sure you want to party again tonight, Len?" Miku asked, looking at the pink haired girl next to her. She was contemplating kissing her again, already craving the sensation; but she held back as she tried to reason with the boy on the other line.

"It's okay, I don't think I'm going to drink tonight." Miku heard the boy laugh nervously, "I just wanna meet Gumi. Ohmygod. I wonder if she'll feel weird if I tell her I'm a huge fan and that I enjoyed her songs to the point of puking?"

"I think you better leave that out as far as introductions go." Luka stated, overhearing the Kagamine boy both on Miku's phone and through her own receiver. "I'll go if Miku wants to." She winked at the tealette, licking her lips to emphasize and remind Miku of what the twins had interrupted.

Miku gulped inaudibly, her pulse beating slightly faster, "Uh… sure. Meiko was here earlier anyways… and we haven't seen Gakupo nor Lily in a long time, so… yeah. We'll drop by later?" She said, shooting a questioning look at Luka, who nodded and said a simple 'Okay'.

"Great! See you there!" The twins said in unison once again, hanging out their phones at the same time.

That synchrony really was unsettling sometimes.

Luka didn't skip a beat. "So, what was that about?"

The teal-eyed girl felt like she was in an interrogation room all of a sudden; her being the guilty criminal. She placed her hands on her lap and thought for a moment. It couldn't be denied that her actions massively contradicted what she had just stated to the taller woman that was currently hawking her movements. She closed her eyes. How could she explain what she did? Even she wasn't sure. Explaining to someone why you kissed them after pretty much rejecting them; even after they admitted their confession to you was just a light-hearted jab and tease wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do.

At a complete loss for words, Miku thought 'What would Rin say?' "It's not like I wanted to or anyth—" Miku stopped, thinking how incorrect it would be if she continued that path. "I mean, no, I guess I did. I just thought I'd do it? There was a lot of rising tension… and I thought it'd be bad if I let that build up. Or something?" She sighed and gave a pleading look to her interrogator, throwing the question to her side in an effort to deflect the attention off of her. "You didn't seem to dislike it, Luka."

"I didn't." Luka stated, unhesitant. Still, she stared, imploring the girl to continue her explanation.

Miku ran her hand through her bangs, a little disappointed her strategy didn't work, "I don't know. The mood felt right, I guess…" murmuring, trying to make sense of it in her mind, Miku sighed again, "I wanted to know what I'd feel, I guess. How you'd feel. I'd be distracted during our projects if I didn't satisfy my curiosity. I'm sorry, it was selfish of me to do that to you."

"And?" Teal orbs met hers, unblinking.

"And…?" Miku fidgeted again. Had she made her angry?

"How did you feel?" Luka leaned against her couch, letting the high tension of the conversation drop a little.

"Ah…" Miku was grateful for the break, "Hm… not bad…?" She couldn't go admitting to Luka that she liked it. She wondered how the taller idol felt. "But it'd be pretty irresponsible… I mean, considering our careers… as I've stated, I just want to focus on my music."

Luka closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, lost in thought for a moment, "Hm… I suppose you are correct." Her tone was rather distant, or so Miku thought. Maybe she was imagining things. "It could be quite bad, wouldn't it? That would be a detriment indeed…" Luka sat up and offered the young girl a smile, "…but it wasn't something to be disliked. I agree with you, Hatsune Miku." She flashed her a grin. It wasn't often she used the star's full name, "Let's put it over our heads and just continue to work on our songs, yes, my dear companion?"

Miku blinked for a moment, pondering Luka's swift mood shifts. Or… was she shifting? Miku couldn't tell. Maybe her mind was just tricking her. She stood up and just smiled back to the hoodie-clad woman, smiling at the silent agreement of friendship. She though it rather awkward and sudden; her thoughts lingered, but she put it aside for now. "Okay. Sounds good."

Luka smiled and made her way towards the hallway, "Would you like to drop by the studio to talk about the collaboration and get all that stuff we wrote down onto some recordings?" She changed the subject, deciding it would be dangerous to linger.

"Ah, yes. I do, actually. Takanashi mentioned talking about something important… I'd like to check it out. We need to share the themes too." Miku welcomed the subject. The heavy air earlier was starting to get to her head; so this familiar and welcomed topic made her smile.

Light footsteps made their way to the bedroom, Luka turned for a second to reply, "Alright. I'll go get ready. Feel free to use anything you want here. I bet you're hungry, so help yourself to my kitchen. Anything goes."

The teal haired girl acknowledged her offer with a hop towards her pantry, letting Luka go about what she needed to do. Miku opened the cabinet to find various cereals, oatmeal bars, bread and packaged foods. She browsed over them and decided to continue her search into the fridge. She found some of the basic things like eggs, milk and cheese; she also eyed some vegetables, eyeing a bundle of welsh onions but ultimately looking over everything else, finding cherry tomatoes and some cream. There were some boxed items which she thought to be leftovers. She figured she'd be nice and show her appreciation to Luka for having her over for so long and decided to ask the older girl if she wanted a meal or if she was going to eat later. Miku made her way to the hallway where Luka disappeared earlier and finding the bathroom lights on and the door partially open made her way towards it, "Luka, do you want something to eat too? I can make some bre—"

"…" Luka paused and turned her head towards the open door, her back turned away. She had the hoodie halfway down her body, her underwear already on the ground and in plain sight. "Oh, my…" She couldn't supress it, "I thought you didn't… but if you really wanted…" she batted her eyelashes and looked shyly at the ground, letting the hoodie slip down further, teasing the wide-eyed Miku into a state of shock. Luka had expected Miku to be flustered once again as she usually was when she teased her; but the mood that set in was radically different from what it usually was and the difference was almost palpable in the air between them. She pulled the hoodie back up to cover herself and was thankful it covered what her underwear would have too. "Miku? Ah… I'm sorry, I was just teasing again…? I didn't mean to cause cardiac arrest."

Miku snapped out of her shock. Gosh, what was that? Why did she want to see Luka again? She was going to ask a question, right? "Ah, oh right. I just wanted to know if you wanted to eat with me. I'm about to make some omelettes… if that was okay. I'm sorry, I didn't know you were going to take a shower, that was rude of me."

Luka waved it off, glad that the girl wasn't imitating a statue anymore, "Don't worry. And yes, I'd love to have something to eat. Thank you."

A nod was all that was given before Miku stepped away, making sure to close the door as she left to venture into the kitchen. Her mind was short circuiting. If confusion was a trait that she gained when she met Megurine Luka, then surely she was destroyed by it by now. Really. Her confuddled mind started mixing up the most basic things as she worked on the meal; trying to crack tomatoes at the edge of the bowl and grating some welsh onion not too long after to try and melt over the cooked eggs. The coffee she was making had to be brewed twice because she ended up putting vegetable juice in it instead of milk; unsteamed at that. Blasphemy. Why her behaviour was so affected by the other woman was not entirely a mystery to her. She did enjoy that kiss, after all. It was a dangerous train of thought, she knew, but what was a hormonal teenager to do? Some part of her did try to rationalize the situation; they had agreed to just focus on music, right? So that's what should be done. She should just ignore the voices that urged her to open that bathroom door and take a peek right? She shouldn't give attention to the other voice urging her to jump Luka, right?

Right?

…Of course. As much as she played around with the thought of intimacies, she knew shouldn't get distracted from what she felt like was destiny. She was born to sing, to be engulfed in sound. Projects, collaborations, shows, albums were coming left and right and she really had no time to dote on anything else aside from keeping up with her schoolwork. She certainly had no time to be messing around with such fickle topics such as romance; nor could she risk the possibility of a backlash due to scandalous indulgences.

"Well, that kind of sucks…" Her thoughts trailed off, eyes distantly looking past the window with her palm cradling her head. She was young, wasn't she supposed to do stupid things like that? She figured it was because she wanted to be more responsible; especially considering her status. So maybe it'd be for the best to just keep those thoughts at bay like she originally intended.

"What kind of sucks?" A hissing noise was noticeable now that Miku had finally decided to pay attention to her surroundings once more. The espresso machine was promptly turned off by the pink haired woman, said locks shining in the bright kitchen light, still dripping slightly with water. She stared at the small machine, "You know, dear, when you intend to steam some milk, usually you have to put the milk to the spout." She picked up the container sitting next to the device and turned it upside down. "And usually, you have to have milk _to_ steam as well."

"E… wha, oh, Luka! I… oops." Miku's eyes followed Luka's movements, watching her take the milk that was still in the fridge and pouring it into the metallic container, "I was dazing off, I guess. I made breakfast. I thought you might want some coffee to go along with it."

"I think you might be psychic, Miku." Luka returned the milk to the cooled cabinet, walking to the machine as she started the steamer, waiting for it to build pressure before she started steaming the white liquid, letting nice froth foam up. "What did you brew? I would love some caffeine right now."

Miku tilted her head at the question, "Uhm… you had… bulk bags, I think I took the one that had 'SCH' written on it, since you were almost out of it. I figured that would be your favourite."

Luka balled her hand into a fist and made a small quick motion, letting out a slight 'Yes!' as she did so, "Swiss Chocolate Hazelnut." She took out two mugs from her cabinet and started pouring some of the rich liquid from the small container and into them, being sure to make it even before she filled the rest of the mug's height with steamed milk, letting some leeway and spooning some froth on top. She stirred both just a little bit, letting a nice whorl of the coffee's colour form on the foam. She handed one of the mugs to Miku, "My current favourite flavour. You were correct."

A smile danced on the teal idol's lips.

"Now what did you make? I'm famished." Luka looked around, seeing that her kitchen was spotless. Wow. Was Miku perfect or something? She had already watched the dirtied kitchenware and put it away. That or she had hidden them somewhere Luka didn't see or threw them out the window, but Luka thought that was just a little farfetched. She eyed no edibles however.

Reading the girl's searching eyes, Miku straightened herself and walked toward's Luka's microwave; opening it to reveal a plate with a two fairly sized omelettes, "It has tomatoes, mushroom and spinach inside. I topped it with cheese and welsh onion. I hope you don't dislike any of those."

Two mugs were set on the small table in the kitchen; Luka pulled out one of the seats before she walked around to pull out another one and sat down; indicating that Miku should sit _tête_-à-_tête_with her. "Sweetie, I don't think I'd have those in my household if I didn't like them, hm?" She offered a smile.

Miku nodded as she took two empty plates, some utensils and the dish with the omelettes to the table and sat down where Luka had indicated, "You have a point. I have to admit, I might have gone a little too liberal on the welsh onion."

The taller girl laughed, grabbing one of the plates Miku set down, Miku serving one of the omelettes to her immediately after she did so. She knew the green vegetable was the girl's favourite, "That's okay, I enjoy them as well."

The light broke slightly through the curtains, the breeze made by the ceiling fan causing the shadows by the window dance around as the two girls sat, enjoying their meal and chatting about everyday nothings. Luka had commented on how good the dish was, Miku explaining that since she lived by herself ever since she was recruited into Crypton, she had to cook for learn to cook for herself.

Luka nodded, but couldn't quite agree. She too lived alone, but she never took the time to learn cooking as a serious skill—she had learned the basics, but only had started to learn how to pair foods and cook recipes after she had gotten tired of going out for dinner nearly every night of the week and eating the leftovers through the day before she would go out again once the sun had retired. It was a rather unhealthy lifestyle, she acknowledged that; which is why she had recently cut down and started buying fresh groceries to help her get started. Mostly, it was just stuff she ate at restaurants that she wanted to imitate, but eventually her curiosity grew and she ended up looking at recipes on the internet whenever she got a craving and tried to make the dish herself—unsuccessfully most of the time. Progress was progress however, Luka figured. The take-out was starting to take a toll on her body, after all. The dent in her wallet was fairly noticeable too, but Luka figured she could shrug that off with Crypton's growing success, but when she made the decision to start doing home cooking, she used it to justify her choice even more, figuring being a little frugal wouldn't hurt.

Another small smile appeared on the young idol's mouth, watching the pink haired girl so happily eat the dish she made. Starting to explain how to make it, Miku realized that Luka probably didn't cook all too often if she didn't even know how to sauté mushrooms. She laughed lightly, offering to teach her how to make the dish and just cook in general whenever they had time to do so. As much as she liked cooking and eating, doing so by herself was starting to get terribly lonesome and company during meals was something she had always been fond of. She cupped the warm mug of coffee in her hand, drinking the liquid as Luka finished her share. The girl licked her lips, telling the pinkette that she definitely understood why it had been Luka's favourite blend at the time. There was something amazingly delicious about the hint of chocolate in the strong coffee and the slight thicker consistency that made her want more. The froth and steamed milk made it a perfect blend and Miku once again complimented Luka on her skill; Luka waving it off, telling her it was just holding a container to the spout, but Miku insisted on the compliment nonetheless.

The two women chatted for a while, letting the food settle before Luka got up to clean everything; insisting once again that Miku was a guest and had already done more than enough favours for her to last for the rest of the year. Miku obliged, not wanting to argue.

"Oh, I just remembered…" The teal haired, teal eyed girl looked up to the ceiling, her index finger cutely against her cheek, "I had something to give you. After the concert, I wanted to go home and grab it, but we went straight here instead."

Luka turned her head from the soapy mess of dishes on her hands, "Oh? That would be…?"

Miku smiled mischievously. She could be a tease, just this once, even if it wasn't much, "You'll have to wait. I'll give it to you later tonight at Meiko's?"

The pink idol pursed her lips, "Hmm… How about I take you home after we're finished with the studio? Can you show me then?"

The tealette blinked, not expecting that answer. Ah, her teasing streak ended as quickly as it started. "Sure. Want to just stay at my place until we go to Meiko's? You've had the twins and myself for entirely too long; it's your turn to be a guest." Miku nodded.

Luka blinked and laughed, rinsing the dishes off and setting them on the side of the sink on a rack to let them dry. "I'd be glad to." She dried her hands off on a clean towel and walked towards her bag that she left on the counter, "Shall we head out?"

Miku stood up and grabbed her own bag from the couch, stretching a bit before nodding at the girl, "Yeah. I'm ready."

"Ah." Luka shot her head up slightly and disappeared into her bedroom, leaving Miku with an interested tilted head by the doorway. She emerged, holding a black mass of cloth in her arm. "I almost forgot. Thank you for lending this to me. It was quite convenient." She let out a laugh as she recalled Meiko's sudden visit and gave the garment to Miku.

The twin-tailed idol took it from her, putting it on herself; not wanting to carry it around on her arm. She mentally reminded herself to take a shower once she got home; noticing that she still wore the same clothes as she did when she got out of the backstage the night before, "No problem. Thank you." She zipped up the hoodie, putting her hands in the pockets as she followed Luka out her door and down to the steps. As they descended, Miku felt slightly dazed again; realizing what she figured to be Luka's scent had lingered on the fabric. It was a very faint but aromatic scent that reminded her of the blooming trees of spring.

Luka unlocked her gray Miata from afar, the flicker of the headlights letting her know it was now open; Miku grabbed the handle of the passenger door as Luka made her way to the other driver's. Both tucked their respective bags to small shelf behind the seats; Miku started on her endless scroll through her playlist and Luka pulled out to head for the studio.

As the small gray car zipped along the motorway, a certain manager was looking at various pieces of paper in an obscenely large room littered with decorations both tasteful and childish. Graphics and objects depicting stars were everywhere one would look, but some grandiose art pieces were also hung against the wall. A sigh was heard and a squeak of a leather chair accompanied it.

Blue eyes met green and left as quick as it arrived. Then they met them again. And again… and again… and…

"Kuroi-san, please. Let's be serious about this."

A chair in the midst of spinning slowed and stopped; the one occupying it rested an elbow on the arm rest and looked at a young manager, "But I am serious, Takanashi." A smiled appeared. "I can't spin and be serious at the same time?"

Green eyes rolled and another sigh escaped, "I think the situation warrants for a little more attention than that."

The young president tapped a finger silently against black locks, "I guess."

"We can't do any recordings like this… I had a project lined up too. What do you think should we do? And these reporters… the speculation is silly, but understandable. Still, we can't let it get too out of hand, it's bad for the company future and her career too…" An exasperated sigh escaped the manager's lips.

"Hmm…" A quick shift of weight onto the other elbow as Kuroi spoke, "Well, don't worry about those silly tabloids. The Vocaloid project is far too successful for us to be affected by that. We'll carry on as we are." Arms crossed and a rather playful expression washed over, "As for Touhi-san, let's just consider it as a vacation at the moment, shall we? Until we are informed further, just tell the girls to carry on as usual."

Takanashi nodded, yet looked slightly miffed, "But we can't get much done if…"

"I know. But it's your project. I know you don't like being stalled." Blue eyes squinted and a wide grin appeared alongside it, "Ah!"

"Ah?"

"I know." The young president stood and looked delighted, "We can kill two birds with one stone here. Let them work on it as they want. However, tell Miku about everything. Touhi, why we can't really progress too far on the song, the tabloids and speculations about the Vocaloid project." A nod was given through closed eyes, "Really, that girl works too hard. Tell her to take a vacation… make her go on some dates with some boys or something. Tell her to maybe do some candid performances at school or somewhere or something. That should help rile up those pesky journalists."

Green eyes lit up, immediately understanding, "Oh! I understand. If she appears more in public like that…"

"Exactly."

Blue and Green met again in understanding; their grins complementing each other.

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><p><em>End Notes: That's that. A bit of suspense for the next chapter. Chapter 5 was a monster to write, and I haven't even gotten to chapter 6 yet, but chapter 5 is so long that I figured I might as well release. The next one might take a while to release. (release schedule explained on my profile).<em>

_I hoped you enjoyed that little piece of sweetness. Happy Halloween._

_Here's another treat for you (I hope you like YuruYuri and know of Mirakurun and Rivarun from that universe) delete spaces and copy and paste into URL bar: fav . me / d4enaw8_


	4. Absolutely Cannot Say

**The Distance These Hands Can Reach**

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><p>Chapter 4 – Absolutely Cannot Say…<p>

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><p><em>Author Notes: First off, thanks to all the reviews and the storyauthor alerts and favourites. It makes me smile to see you all enjoying my little story._

_I won't ramble for now, I'll put most of them at the end. Here's chapter 4._

_P.S. - Oh yeah. For this, I think some visual aid will... help. Or just some eye candy regardless. Here (delete spaces): youtu . be / -dd4HqNOA4U_

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><p>It is a well-known and well accepted fact that there are some things in existence that move in ways that have a hypnotizing effect on the spectator or the person experiencing it. One lulls to these movements; whether it is the swing of a hammock or the waves of the ocean periodically crashing upon the shore. A pendulum swinging back and forth will have most eyes following its trajectory and a spiral will draw a viewer in. Why this works is usually not questioned—it's just an accepted fact about the state of human mind.<p>

Simple.

If there is a pattern, the brain will follow.

This, Miku knew. These thoughts had crossed her mind more than a million times in the small span of the present she had spent in this mirror walled room. Sure, it had only been less than an hour since she got there, but observing the things she did make her ponder. What was it about these repetitive movements that were so eye catching? She had it down to pattern recognition, but she couldn't help but feel like she was just trying to justify her intent stares. She wasn't feeling lulled at all. Rather, these certain… spinning movements… were drawing her eyes in for different reasons. A new set of feelings being invoked and she knew quite well that's why she was burning this image in her mind.

The spinning verse started up again and the movements followed.

Yep.

She was most definitely staring.

But who wouldn't? Really. She was trying to justify it all, but she really didn't need to. The point of the choreography was to take advantage of the performer's existing skills to lure in the eyes of the audience in the best fashion possible, right? To top it all off, the words matched the movements almost perfectly. Miku really did have to praise the choreography director for this one.

The way Megurine Luka had been dancing right now was most definitely eye catching.

The guitar solo rang out and Miku kept observing—the pink haired woman's twirls were perfectly executed. She was kind of envious. Her own choreography wasn't subpar or anything; it just seemed like Luka's routines were a different class of their own, a different style that truly captivated the aura she gave off.

And goodness. Those hips.

The two idols had gone into the rehearsal dance room in the Crypton studio. Originally intending to see Takanashi, but finding quickly that their young manager had been in a meeting with their strange president, they found other things to do. Luka mentioned to Miku about practicing the routine for 'Double Lariat' again, citing that it was her favourite, but it was rather tiring so she had to get used to it. Miku saw no reason to protest, so she just followed and sat in the room to spectate.

And now here she was.

Every time _that _verse came on, Miku found her eyes glued to a certain area of the taller girl's body. She tried to justify it by thinking that that was the point, that was what the routine called for, but gosh. Was it normal to stare like that? Everyone else in the studio _was_ indeed staring, so the young tealette knew she wasn't alone in the feeling. However, she couldn't help but feel rather indecent for leering like she did. The mood that had set between then, along with the episodes in Luka's condo as well as the strange tension that she felt in Luka's car on the way to the studio had all accounted for it, she reasoned.

The music stopped.

The flutter of pink movements slowed to a halt.

Miku finally found the resolve to break her gaze away from the subject of attentions.

The young dancer chatted with her choreographer and some other colleagues, praising the way it was composed amongst other things. Miku sat and fidgeted, wanting to compliment Luka in the same fashion as she did right after the concert, but holding back due to the atmosphere of the studio. It wasn't like she wasn't welcome there or her opinion didn't count; she was the biggest star in the studio, after all. Her opinion carried a lot of weight. However, the need to keep up appearances was thumping through her self and the way she wanted to carry conversation to the rosy performer was in a tone much more knowing and casual than she cared to show other people. It was apprehension, yes; it was unjustified yes—the people present were _still_ her colleagues too, and they had been the same people who had helped choreograph 'magnet', so they were well-versed in Luka's antics and the rumours that surrounded the two; but Miku thought it awkward to show how close the two had actually gotten.

It was a dangerous gap they were treading on, after all.

Earlier, on the way to the studio, a frighteningly heavy air stagnated between the two girls and Miku couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable at the presence of the pink-haired idol. It was her own actions that caused such an environment, she realized, but she couldn't help but nearly choke on the tension she felt when she was left alone in her presence. There were many things she was afraid of, and one of that was losing her beloved friends and fellow singers. Though Luka had confirmed with her many times that she held nothing against the young star for her actions and that she was okay with just being friends so they could focus on their work; Miku couldn't help but have such paranoid thoughts like so; what if Luka was just being really nice but secretly detested her? What if Luka actually really hated that kiss and was only teasing to make her feel better? What if Luka didn't even like gir—

"Excuse me. Megurine Luka and Hatsune Miku?" A short, tawny figure stood at the door, abrupting Miku's derailed thoughts—she noted that a demanding presence lurked behind such an innocent expression and it reminded her of the twin's aura, "Oh, good, you're both here. Kuroi has finished with the meeting with Takanashi, and I thought you two would like to know. It's probably a good time to catch an improv meeting with the manager."

"Yuu-san! How are you?" Luka skipped towards the entrance, greeting the short assistant.

Yuu nodded at Luka, smiling, "I'm good thank you. Busy, as usual… Takanashi has me running around like a headless chicken; doing simple things like calling you girls so I could tell you such things either of you could have just called for." Tawny eyes closed and choppy hair shook as a sigh became audible, "Honestly, I don't know why Kuroi insists I go with that… that… argh!"

Miku sauntered up to join them and kept a small laugh in check, "Now, now. Takanashi isn't that bad, Yuu-san." She grinned, knowing the short assistant was good friends with both the president and their manager; much more so with the president, but was assigned to help the young Takanashi out with necessary duties rather than be at the President's side where she was more comfortable and, admittedly, more capable. "We'll head up to the office now, right Luka?"

The taller girl smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I think I'm all finished here pretty much. I just need to come back and practice regularly." Luka waved at the group with her choreographer and they waved back, signifying an OK, "We'll head up now."

The choppy locks bounced as Yuu nodded, "Alright. I think there was some news but I'm not sure what." The short figure started walking towards the hallway to the floor lounge, the two girls thinking the overworked assistant probably wanted to take a break and get some tea to relax for a bit, "It seemed important though, I wonder what it is." The figure retreated into the room and Miku and Luka were left to wonder.

The elevator let out a soft ding and the pair stepped in. Both leaned against the silver box; a calming bossa nova rendition of what sounded like Luka's 'Stardust Utopia' droning in; Miku absentmindedly humming with the tune.

"I need to practice this too…" Luka was bobbing her head along, thinking aloud as choreography invaded her thoughts. Though she realized that she was the most skilled in terms of stamina and execution amongst Crypton's group of talents, she sometimes found it a little troublesome to have such complex and tiring routines set up for her.

"It must be tiring. The song itself demands a lot and still doing all that dancing…" Miku put her index finger to her cheek, recalling Luka's performance at the concert just several hours past. The elevator door opened and the two stepped out onto carpet and started walking to their destination, "I don't know how you do it so perfectly. Even I stumble sometimes."

Luka sighed and took the lead, walking a short distance down the corridor, "It's not easy, you know that." She eyed the silly nameplate and amusedly thought of the president coming down to bug the young manager and defacing what should be a professional display into a carefree, star littered mini-galaxy. "That's why I try to rehearse it often. I need to build up the stamina to perform both parts at the same time." They both stopped at the door, neither knocking, but rather continuing on their banter.

Miku nodded, knowing all too well what Luka meant. She herself sometimes compromised her dance routines so she could deliver the strength in song instead. It didn't happen often, but for some she just couldn't quite dance as excitedly as other songs. A blur of words scrolling through her mind at 240 beats per minute flashed by and all she could do was blink and try to shake it out of her mind. She opted to focus on the blue 'TAKANASHI Y.' galaxy in front of her. "You know, I've noticed you do a lot of songs about space. Like, galaxies and kind of sciencey stuff. You get to choose your subject, right?"

Luka let out a small guilty laugh, "Ah… well, yes. To tell the truth, I'm very curious about the universe; I studied astronomy for a bit in university before I was recruited here…" She looked at the shorter girl, giving her a cheeky grin, "But to be completely honest, a lot of what sparked my interest in that is more fiction that anything. That's why most of the stuff I pick turns out being more sci-fi like more than actual science most of the time."

"Megurine Luka is a geek?" Miku held her hand against her mouth, pretending to be shocked, a smile foiling her intended expression.

"I guess you could say something like that." The pink haired girl knocked on the door, "But I'm very curious about actual astronomy and physics too, you know. I try to keep up with discoveries and such. I have a telescope on my balcony; you probably saw it."

The teal haired girl nodded, indeed recalling a white giant camera-lens looking thing. The door swung open and the two girls broke their chat to look and greet a grinning Takanashi, "Girls, come in. I've got some news."

Miku furrowed her eyebrows. Something seemed off. She looked at Luka, who just shrugged at her expression in return, but kept an acknowledging gaze regardless. The two sat down on the sofas in front of the desk and their manager took the seat on the other side.

"I've got some news. Some gossip, some actual news." Takanashi started, the girls stared. "It's about your collaboration. Now, first I just have to announce that we will have to halt recordings for a while."

"What! Why!" Miku let her mouth hang open at the all too casual announcement. Luka kept composure.

"Well, it's… about the producers, really." A sigh was let out and green eyes looked at the desk, "There's a bit of drama going on. There's a slight issue with who has the rights to what composition… plagiarism and all that. You know it is with the flexibility we've provided with the Vocaloid project." The two girls nodded, knowing full well how it all worked and how the misunderstanding might have arisen.

The way it was set up; producers that were hired with Crypton Future Media, Internet Co., AH Software and other idol studios were free to use a program that all the companies called the 'Vocaloid Project', which, simply put, was a software that contained a voice bank for each of the singers assigned to the respective company. The producers were free to do what they liked, making a 'complete' song along with vocal arrangement without the actual singer being present. Most singers would collaborate with the producer to create a song using their own ideas, but sometimes it would just be all of the producer's work, which wasn't bad. Usually, after they had completed a project, it was presented to the manager and then to the singer for approval or denial. It was rather convenient, really. With such freedom though, it was hard to keep track of who was working on what, and plagiarism accusations often came up when two producers had a similar style and one would get chosen but the other not.

"So we've decided to let them cool off for a while. The ones actually involved in the main scuffle is the producer that we worked with for 'magnet' and another producer claiming rights… with the actual producing process so clouded, it's hard to prove anything. To add to that, actually, Touhi, the one that you two were supposed to work with… well, he's currently missing." The young manager ruffled through black locks, the idol pair looking concerned, "His roommate called us and apparently he hasn't returned since the concert. We don't know where he is, but I'm sure it's nothing bad; otherwise we'd have gotten some reports. It hasn't been a day, so we think he just partied too hard or something, but his roommate is rather concerned. Apparently that's not his normal behaviour. Kuroi has already called for some support regarding an investigation or a search of some sort, so please don't worry about that for now." The two girls nodded, but couldn't help being a bit perturbed.

"So does this mean…" Miku trailed off, her eyes showing worry.

"Unfortunately with the issues the producers are in right now and your own personal collaborator missing; we're going to have to call a stall on doing anything with composition or recording. At least on the production part. You are free to progress as much as you like with flushing the themes out or maybe getting lyrics down; but I'm sure it'll be hard without a composition to follow it." Miku's expression fell. The manager saw this and continued, "So, both Kuroi-san and I would suggest just letting things settle for now. The concert was a huge success and that itself warrants for a vacation, don't you think?" Green eyes pointed to Luka.

The pinkette smiled, a little disappointed to hear the news, but understanding anyways, "I suppose." She looked at her co-star, who didn't seem to be holding up as well as her. "Miku?"

Teal eyes expressed turmoil within. Miku knew there wasn't much she could do if this was the case. As much as she wanted to work on music, if there was a halt on recording per the president's demands, it was probably for the best. Still, making music and performing was her world… what would she do with this sudden stop?

"To add even more to that, there have been some rumours going around. Gossip. Tabloids. I'm sure you're all pretty used to it." The chair swivelled slightly. Takanashi didn't wait for Miku to reply, "There's some serious speculation about the reality of our idols even existing." Takanashi let out a laugh, "Geez, I know it sounds silly, but I can kind of see where they are coming from. The only time our talents are exposed to the public is during actual performances. Everything else is done via correspondence with Crypton or well, just not directly to the performers, you know? And during the concerts, the way the stage is set up, the nature of the quick changes and flashy intros; along with the intricate outfits you all have… I guess these were bound to come up one way or another."

Luka and Miku nodded, a little surprised that out of all the rumours that could have gotten serious attention; it was the one questioning their very existence that got so much steam.

Takanashi continued, "So, our president, having a bit of a childish streak, has suggested that our stars become more prominent, more 'normal' as you could say out in the public eye. Miku especially. Aside questioning if you exist, there's also rumours that you're asexual."

Miku gaped, "What?" Luka stifled a laugh, knowing how the young diva normally acted about romantic relationships. If it existed, she tried to avoid it at all costs—maybe she was uninterested in it, but the rose-haired woman knew it was because she was such a workaholic. The fact that she seemed so distraught about the news of non-recording time just proved that. Miku was clueless, however, and rather incredulous. "How did they come up with that! What!"

Takanashi gave a serious stare, "It's true. I know it sounds ridiculous, but you somehow manage to release several songs a day it seems. All mostly concerning romance, yet when you are seen in public… I've heard that in your school, many boys tend to confess to you, but you've all turned them down. It's like you're not even actually interested in romance."

The chair squeaked as Miku sank back into the sofa, "That's… partially true. I'm not interested in relationships; I want to work on music… I only produce so many songs with the help of the Vocaloid project… it's not like I'm actually doing much work other than approving and learning the song." The teal haired girl pouted once more, "It's not like I don't have feelings like that or something…"

Takanashi jumped on the opportunity, "So we have the perfect solution!" Miku warily looked; even Luka seemed a bit unsettled. That grin and the 'we' implied that the young manager and the young president had come up with something, and it was usually something that worked, just that most of the time it was a little… off mark. "We're trying to make the world see that you're real, you exist; you're interested in romance. You're not a lesbian."

Luka coughed. Miku imitated a koi fish.

"Where did that last one come from…?" Luka asked, gaining her composure again and trying not to giggle.

"This is your faaaault, aaaugh…" Miku buried her hands in her bangs, crouching over on the sofa as she listened.

Luka laughed and played innocent, "I did no such thing. I don't see rumours about _me_ being a lesbian, sweetie."

Luka caught the manager about to say something, but shot a knowing look and a plea to just be silent for a moment so she could tease the young star. Takanashi shrugged and observed for a second, "Anyways, that's what we're trying to accomplish. The rumours from 'magnet' are still very much alive, and with this plan, we might be able to rule that out too."

Miku shifted uncomfortably, not sure how to take this all in, "Okay… what is it?"

That grin again. "Go on dates. With boys. Several preferably."

Miku's expression turned dangerous. Luka stayed silent. "Do you realize what you are saying to me?"

Takanashi laughed meekly, knowing full well that the request that Miku, quite honestly, whore out her attentions to some petty boys to dispel some rumours was going to sound quite rude. "Now, now… I'm not saying go and accept the confessions of all the boys in your school or anything… but it wouldn't hurt if you went out with a few, you know? That'd dispel the rumours quickly. It'd be with a real person, it'd be in public, and you're going out with a guy. Not Luka here."

Luka looked away, a crooked smile on her face, looking as guilty as ever, her mind recalling the rumours that she had started about Miku and herself on a certain VIP board.

A huff and a pout was all that Miku gave initially, sinking back and crossing her arms, thinking of the implications, thinking how absolutely extremely sucky it was that she couldn't record, "I don't know. It'd be distracting… but I guess I won't be doing much work… arrrgh" she ruffled her own bangs in frustration, "I'll see how it goes." She let out another grunt, but it came out rather cutely in her usual high pitch, "We really can't record?"

Luka intervened, feeling like she should help, "I don't think we can do much without a producer… producing, sweetie. Unless we start learning how to operate all that gear ourselves. I can't do much more than home recording."

"If you want to do it that way, you are free to do so. We just can't do anything officially here. I do like what you've come up with as far as the themes go." The green eyed manager leaned on an arm, elbow on desk, "But remember, ideally we'd like for you to dispel the rumours, not just get on with recording."

Miku stood up and Luka followed, bowing slightly. The teal haired girl straightened her skirt and bowed her head as well, signifying they were taking their leave, "We'll see. I'm not too keen on idea, but I understand the situation…" she murmured.

The other idol smiled, keeping quietly to herself again, "Thank you for the update, Takanashi-san. I'll help out as much as I can." She waved and proceeded to the doorway, "Oh, by the way, I'm liking your little blue galaxy here." She pointed towards the nameplate and green eyes faltered, sighing in defeat.

"Just leave it… it seems every time I try to clean it, more stars just appear… they're like… breeding, or something." The manager sat back and waved at the girls as the door closed.

The pair walked the path back to the elevator, entering and pressing the floor level button; Miku ranting about how petty the producers could sometimes be, and how Touhi had the _nerve_ to go missing right now—even though both girls were seriously concerned; Miku's irritability would not hesitate to cross that boundary. Luka just lend her an ear as she continued ranting; being overdramatic, telling Luka that her world was ending.

At this, the pink idol couldn't help but laugh. She had tried to stifle it, but Miku was being so overdramatic at this point. "Maybe we should include this into the song." The silver box opened its doors again and Luka led the way; heading for the exit. "I mean, you're quite stressed about it… I think it'd help if you let that out somehow. What's better than putting it into what we're working on?" She shuffled through her belongings and found her keys, hitting the button a few times as they progressed into the lot. The car's horn sounded and they instinctively walked in the direction it came from.

Miku sighed, playing with her long locks, a bit downcast, "I guess… but still…" She opened the door to the vehicle and got in, buckling herself down in synch with Luka.

"Don't stress over it, dear. We've all been working ourselves pretty hard with that concert; and since it was such a success, don't you think Takanashi was right in saying that a vacation is well deserved?" Luka tried reasoning with the capricious girl, "So let's just calm down and try to be normal for a second; as much as I know that may be a challenge to you, you workaholic."

Another sigh. Defeat. Even her own duet partner was insisting taking a break. "I guess I can't do much."

Luka smiled, putting on a pair of pink wayfarers as she pulled out of the lot and onto the main road; heading for the young idol's house. She didn't need to ask for directions—she was already well-versed. Since 'magnet' had so much synchrony they had needed to work on, Luka often went to Miku's place to practice since she had the larger space and a sort of mini-studio for practicing dance choreography. The pink haired idol also made a point to drop by whenever she was simply bored; much to Miku's dismay. It wasn't entirely unwelcome though, Luka did often help out with her studies too; her English was far from terrible, but she could have used some tutoring—which Luka did provide in the most patient way.

The ride to Miku's apartment didn't have the same heavy air as it did when the two had been heading to the studio; instead Miku just mumbled and ranted on about how unfair it was to take a sudden break after _just_ accepting a collaboration offer to which Luka was glad to listen to. She agreed, of course; she herself was excited to work with the number one tealette, but she was also glad for the break. Concert rehearsals took time and stress; she wasn't burnt out but she probably was close to it. And to be honest, she was concerned for Miku's health as well. The young star took things head on and scooped up everything else on her way to wherever she wanted to go; so it was natural to think she might be overworking herself. Luka couldn't even imagine how she managed to have a personal life outside of school and work; but grinned slightly, knowing that the little free time Miku did allow to have for herself, she often intruded in. A twinge of guilt might have crept up to her, but she didn't feel so bad about it, knowing Miku had affirmed many times that it often got lonely by herself so she had welcomed the company—unannounced or not.

When they arrived at the complex, Luka parked the car in a familiar spot quickly, almost automatically. The action was second nature to her; considering how many times she had visited. Miku unbuckled herself and opened the door, looking at her driver, "Come on up with me, I have something to give you, remember?"

Luka nodded and turned her car off, grabbing the keys and getting out to follow the girl up the stairs into her own home. She locked her vehicle from Miku's doorway, hearing the familiar beep of an alarm before she stepped in the spacious apartment. "So… what's this _'__thing__'_? You won't tell me, so I'm kind of excited about it. It's not something _naughty_ is it?" Luka held up her palm to her mouth, trying to hide a teasing grin.

Miku waved it off, putting her belongings on a table next to the doorway, "No. Here, give me a second." The small girl walked around her living room, motioning towards the couch, "Have a seat, I'll get it."

Luka nodded again and watched Miku walk towards the room she recognized as the studio. Her footsteps made nearly no sound on the lush carpet as she walked towards the sofa the young girl had pointed to earlier; taking a seat and waiting patiently. She didn't have to wait long though; Miku had already returned. "Ninja."

Miku blinked, "What?" She moved to the sofa, sitting next to Luka, disregarding the fleeting question. She handed a small box to Luka, "Here. I was passing by the music store and the manager there had just gotten in some traditional instruments." She watched as Luka opened the box to reveal a rather expensive looking bamboo flute. "I remember you saying you had more practice with woodwind than with the stuff the producers normally had in the studio… so I don't know, I thought I'd get you this. It just caught my eye."

Luka gawked. She didn't play many instruments, but she did have a bit of practice. Just like most of the idols, she was trained with the piano, but she had picked up woodwinds and brass instruments some time along the way and had learned a bit of technique; finding it rather helpful with her singing and breath control. "Wow. Dizi…" She picked up the instrument and looked it over, admiring the craftsmanship and the decorative ornament at the end of the Chinese flute. "Thank you. Wow. This is high quality…"

Miku let out an 'ehe', knowing exactly how much she spent on the small instrument, "I just thought it'd be nice and different. I got myself something too. A pipa… Chinese too, a lute. I don't know how to play it yet though, I figure I'd give it a go." She got up, glad that Luka enjoyed what she had gotten her. "I'm gonna go take a shower, Luka. I'll be right back." She walked towards her own bedroom to pick out some clothes, leaving Luka to her entire apartment, knowing the woman was comfortable enough to be left alone. She recalled a time when Luka let herself in without her own self being around—it was certainly a surprise to find someone in your home taking a nap on your sofa, PS3 controller in hand after you had gotten home late from school. They both shrugged it off quickly back then, Miku was a bit surprised, but didn't find it too unlikely. Luka brought along food with her as a peace offering, knowing she would be intruding and that was enough to pacify the young star; the tutoring helped convince her too, of course.

And though one would expect her to be mischievous at the young idol's home; Luka surprisingly, behaved herself. Whether it was her naturally proper manners kicking in or the fact that she was just comfortable with her environment, she wasn't sure. She didn't really care at the moment. There was a nice couch right underneath her and a nap sounded quite nice after such an interesting start of the day, an exhausting rehearsal and a tiring night before. The way she had awoken wasn't the most pleasant, so she took full advantage of the soft material beneath her and let the fatigue swallow her consciousness.

A slow blur of senses jumbled her mind; the scent of something savory and sweet overwhelming her sense of smell. The young woman sat up slowly, taking in the initially strange feel of the environment around her—rubbing her eyes and finally remembering she had taken a nap at Miku's apartment. She blinked a few times and yawned; stretching. Over in the kitchen came some sizzling, the source of the aroma clearly coming from that direction. "What are you making?"

Miku turned to look at the now conscious woman, "Good evening. How was your nap?" She turned her attention back to the pan in her hand, "Just some stir fried vegetables. I figured you'd be hungry when you woke up."

"Nap was good, thanks." Luka sniffed the air, noting that Miku had already long finished her shower; already dressed to leave as she stood by the stove, "That smells delicious. You're so considerate. Are you perfect or something? Maybe you really are a… cyborg… or something. No one can be this flawless." Luka accused the young girl with her eyes.

The twin tailed idol rolled her eyes and continued cooking, choosing to ignore the comments. "You've been asleep for two hours at the very least. I thought you were going to be asleep until tomorrow; I was going to wake you up after I finished cooking, but it seems you woke up by yourself just at the right time." Miku turned off the heat on the stove; carefully putting the contents of the pan onto a large, white dish; then immediately rinsing the dirty pan in her sink.

Luka watched as the young girl dutifully cleaned the pan quickly but efficiently, setting it to dry on the side all within less than a minute, a bit impressed at how responsible the petite tealette was proving to be. "Thank you. You've been cooking for me for all of today, I'll have to pay you back somehow; though I can't say my cooking is better… or on the same level for that matter." She took a seat at the small table, letting Miku serve once again, "Maybe I'll take you out sometime. My treat."

"You don't need to do that." The twin tailed girl set out plates with some rice one the table, going back to the kitchen to bring the stir fry she had just made to serve, "I'm sure that'll cause more rumours about us anyways."

Luka took the serving plate from Miku's hands, helping her put it on the table as the young girl still busied herself, getting a tea pot and two cups to set again before taking a seat across the taller pinkette who had been remembering the details of the meeting today, "Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Sorry. Groggy mind." Luka thanked her for the food and started eating, complimenting Miku once again on how good everything had tasted. "Still, I owe you for this. It's delicious. And for the dizi as well… and for breakfast earlier. And for lending me your couch. Goodness Miku. I'm taking you out to wherever you want once we get past those pesky rumours. I owe you a lot."

Miku blushed, a bit flattered at the compliment and at being thanked, "It's alright, don't worry. I owe you a lot too."

"For sparking rumours that you might be a lesbian?" Luka smiled, Miku almost choked. "Just kidding. We'll go somewhere nice, okay? Once we find a way around all this silliness."

"If you insist. I'll hold you to that." Seeing no reason to argue further, Miku just let Luka do what she wanted; she knew she wasn't going to win if she started an argument over this anyways. "We should get going to Meiko's soon. I have to go back to school tomorrow, so I can't stay too late."

"Ah? Didn't they give you the week off? Should you be going back to school so soon?"

"Yeah, but I'd miss a lot of material. Catching up sucks when I've got such a busy… oh."

Luka raised an eyebrow.

"I guess I don't really have a busy schedule in that case…" Miku sighed once more, remembering her sudden empty agenda. "But still, I'd rather not fall behind."

"Inhuman." The pink haired girl pushed her bangs back to her ear, crossing her arms and nodding at herself, "What kind of 16 year old skips out on the opportunity to miss school? Madness. Unheard of."

Another roll of the eyes, "It's called being responsible, thank you."

The pair had quickly finished their meal, Luka helping clean up this time around after insisting several times. They had wanted to get to Meiko's rather quickly; the night was passing by and Miku couldn't pass up the opportunity to jokingly blame Luka for knocking out—Luka quickly deflecting her teasing by countering by saying it was Miku's fault for keeping her up _all __night_; to which she was rewarded with death glares from the currently irascible diva. Some sighs and apologies later, they made their way out, heading for the small house where Meiko and Kaito and more often than not, Lily lived together.

There were many speculations of Meiko and Kaito being together as a couple when they had first debuted; so not a lot found it too surprising that they had housed together. As far as concrete facts went though, neither really admitted to anything; not even the rest of the Crypton cast knew what their relationship exactly was; they just acted as close friends and until they came out with anything other than that, they just treated them as such.

Although Lily's contract for Internet Co. was announced by Yamaha a year before, she still hadn't gotten much attention or projects since her voice bank was not yet utilized in the Vocaloid project and still remained in its infancy as such; so she was seen as a sort of outcast despite her big name ties, only getting a few songs here and there. Meiko had gotten to know the blonde star despite being from different studios, being closer in age than the rest of her Internet Co. colleagues. It was a relationship very similar to the one the brunette had with Luka; but since Lily was a bit on the wilder side than Luka was, Meiko had gotten much closer to her a lot faster and as such, Lily had pretty much become a permanent citizen in her and Kaito's household. The three often had outings together, but Lily and Meiko took advantage of their similarities and often took up the opportunity to go out—leaving the same kind of rumours that Luka and Miku had been experiencing with the release of 'magnet' in their tracks. Kaito never seemed to have a problem with it, there was never any outward indication that he was unhappy with the situation—in fact he seemed rather cheery about everything. They all kept the same poker faced attitude towards everything though; so aside from their own selves, no one really knew much more than the being friends or house mates.

When they arrived at the quaint house, they could already tell that the party was well on its course. The loud fanfare and music ringing throughout hinted that the partiers had all decided on karaoke as the activity of the night. Luka knew her hosts well and figured a knock or a ring was unnecessary and just opened the unlocked from door and let herself and Miku in, the younger only following knowing that Luka was not unfamiliar with the place.

A blue swirl appeared, leaving a cold substance in their hands. They looked to find quite small ice cream cones in their grasp.

"Uh…" Miku stared at the bite sized ice substance, not sure if she should eat it or question where it exactly came from. She turned to Luka and seeing how the pink girl already started licking her own iced treat, she figured it'd be safe to do the same. Luka motioned for her to come along as she walked down the short hallway to where she thought the blue blur might have escaped to, and surely enough it was where the noises of a karaoke machine rang out.

Three yellow presences made their way towards the pair, "Miku, Luka!"

For a second, Miku wondered if Lily was related to the twin pair. She was close enough in behaviour and looks to pass; even syncing with them as she did now, "Good evening, Rin, Len. You too, Lily. It's been a while." She gave a hug to the older blonde.

Lily gave a grin and hugged the tealette closer, leering at Luka, "Hello, evil twin. I see you've come to return my precious princess!"

Luka glared back, talking in a cold tone, "Ah, is that so? I could have sworn you were the evil twin." She looked at Miku being held tightly in the blonde's grasp, "And I don't see any rumours flying about with you and Miku being a lesbian couple or anything." Oh, how Luka loved turning certain things to her advantage.

Miku glowered through Lily's embrace, a little ticked that Luka was using such a stressor to her benefit, "I'm not in a lesbian relationship with anyone, thank you very much."

Luka pouted, a little disappointed that Miku wasn't helping in her little quarrel with her _evil __twin_. The two weren't actually siblings, but one would start having suspicions. They didn't behave similarly like Lily did with the twins, they didn't synchronize either; but given their looks and somewhat similar range and stylings, it was quite plausible if it was presented to someone in the right context. Give Luka blonde hair or Lily pink hair and most of them swore you wouldn't be able to tell them apart if they never spoke. Their close debut dates also propelled this; the pair had actually noticed it themselves first and their naturally mischievous nature took over, having fake spats over things under the guise that the other was the evil twin and engaging in antics that would embarrass someone else they forcibly involved. With Luka, she would often pretend to be taking Meiko away from her fateful lover, often citing that Meiko had already been torn away once from Kaito and could no longer bear any more heartbreak so she chose the gentle, careful pinkette; and as with Lily, she pretended that Miku had belonged to her the entire time and Luka had taken her away with constant collaborations and holding her hostage at her own home.

Lily let her grip loose around the teal-eyed girl, sensing the stress in her voice, "What's wrong, princess?" The nickname wasn't teasing; it was something Lily had gotten used to calling Miku after so many months of banter and arguing with Luka.

Miku sighed and went for the couch, sitting next to Gakupo and the twins soon joined, squishing her in between. Miku pointed to a freshly garnished, blue drink, it looked untouched and full. "Gakupo. Are you drinking that?"

Gakupo looked at Miku, a bit surprised at the sudden interrogate, but replied anyways, "No, it's not one's at the moment. Feel free to drink it if you want." The purple eyed man looked over at Lily, who looked over at Luka; who sighed and put a hand on her head. Gakupo blinked. "Also, hello, it's been a long time."

Miku smiled and apologized for not greeting him. Rin and Len stared at Miku who had taken such a sudden interest in consuming her drink as fast as she can. Len considered telling her that maybe she shouldn't be drink something like an 'Adios' so quickly, but Rin gave him a glance that told him to be quiet.

"Luka, what did you do?" Rin inquired, now choosing to glare at the pinkette.

"I did nothing!" Luka suspiciously exclaimed.

The twin tailed girl stirred her drink and finally talked, "Don't worry about me. I'm just a little stressed. Luka has nothing to do with it." She sighed and sank into the couch, leaning a bit on Rin. "…well, not much anyways." She added. The ribboned blonde she was leaning on watched intently; fascinated by Miku's strange stressed behaviour. "Just some stuff with work." Miku finished off her drink and Rin quickly replaced the empty glass with a new full one and the teal haired girl absentmindedly accepted it. Gakupo tilted his head in questioning, about to make a remark similar to what Len had in mind but Rin quickly waved him off and the ponytailed man decided not to butt in the girl's affairs.

A certain pinkette noticed this and raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Ah, I heard about that." An older looking but rather baby faced man walked in the room, donning a scarf and holding a tub of organic ice cream in one arm; a scooper in the other. "The producer issue, right? They're having a huge fight over something and Kuroi's put everything on hiatus until the drama is all sorted out. " Kaito took the scooper and got a sizable chunk of strawberry ice cream, immediately chomping down on it before he continued, "Apparently the concert sparked it all. It's huge for publicity, which means more sales, so I can see why it got to be to this scale within a day."

The tealette nodded and affirmed Kaito's statements before looking to Rin—glass now empty once again, commenting that it was good and how it tasted just like lemonade, only blue. Rin replied with a 'Right?', replacing Miku's empty glass with another, much fruitier looking one and Len made a scowling face, still repulsed at the slightest thought of consuming anything with the horrid liquid in it.

Meiko sat next to Lily, adjacent to the couch where the Kagamines, Miku and Gakupo sat; choosing a song on the karaoke machine and putting it enqueue. "I was told about that too. We weren't doing much aside from working on the append for the voice banks, so it doesn't affect us too much, but I know you had something going on as usual, Miku." The brunette was going to comment on the drinks Miku had been consuming, but was quickly snapped out of it when Lily draped her legs on her lap, getting entirely too comfortable.

"Luka and I just got a collaboration project going… like literally, right after the concert. We had so much stuff down already and now this… stalled progress!" The indignant girl drank half of her current glass; giving it to Rin again when she felt no desire to have more—cheeks starting to burn a brighter shade, "What am I doing to dooo… plus I had to disprove all those rumours too. Apparently I'm non-existent, yet asexual _and_ a lesbian at the same time." The tealette buried her face in her hands; all pairs of eyes in the room looked at the standing Luka as the last mention of the girl's issues.

Luka blinked and fretted; suddenly in the spotlight.

A magnificent yawn was let out and all eyes shifted from pink onto green and orange. Luka met her saviour with a smile and the young goggled girl stared wide eyed at the room currently occupied by 9 individuals, including herself, "Whoa. Full house…" her green eyes searched for purple, getting a shrug from her cousin.

Kaito took the opportunity to shift the mood from concerned onto something livelier, standing next to Gumi and holding his hand out to everyone else, "Everyone, I'm sure you already know, but this is Gumi, Gakupo's cousin, Internet Co.'s insanely popular idol." Gumi blushed, regardless if the introduction was a bit sarcastic. Lily cheered, pretending to be a rabid fan.

Green eyes gave a glare in the blonde's direction, but quickly changed expression when she thanked Kaito for the unnecessary introduction. Gumi greeted Miku and Rin; Len as well, but he seemed rather incoherent when she did so she chose to ignore him for now. Apparently the twins had only gotten there a bit before Miku and Luka; and thus had not realized Gumi was actually in attendance. Gumi moved around from the couch and greeted Luka—the pinkette offering a pleasant smile and a graceful introduction in return. Gumi blushed again, not exactly sure why she was doing so—she just figured it was the sudden shift into a proper manner that made her react as such.

"I watched the concert yesterday. Oh my gosh." Gumi looked at Luka and the celebrities on the couch, "You were all so great. Can I have autographs?" She took out a permanent marker from one of her pockets; apparently ready at all times for the need to sign and gushed over Luka.

A pair of teal eyes paired with now burning cheeks glared momentarily and all three of the blondes in the room made note of the fleeting glance. The brunette noticed as well and when she looked questioningly at the blonde next to her; she was met with nothing but a grin.

The pair of orange painted hands reached out for Luka's teal painted ones, giving her the marker. Luka blinked and wondered if the girl was serious. "Uhm… where should I sign… I guess…?"

Twin tails hung down freely as her own pair of teal hands supported weight, letting Miku off the couch. She lost balance for a second but caught herself letting a 'whoa' in the unexpected dizziness. Gakupo kindly supported the girl before she made her way over to where Gumi and Luka were standing. Rin eyed her best friend intently, half making sure she wouldn't stumble and hurt herself, half wondering how intoxicated she was this early into the party.

Luka held out the uncapped marker, waiting for Gumi to indicate where or what to sign; Gumi herself was fishing through her pockets, looking for the setlist she had gotten the night before.

Throughout the rest of the room, Meiko and Kaito started their famous 'Rinascita' duet and Gakupo was pouring more drinks to replace the ones Miku had consumed so quickly. The mauve-haired idol was surprisingly adept at mixology. The trio of blondes kept their place, both keeping attention to the performance and the three standing girls.

Gumi took out a neatly folded piece of paper and smiled, "Aha! Here it is; I got it yesterday at the concert. It's the staff's version of the setlist I managed to grab from my manager." Gumi pointed to somewhere a bit halfway past the list of words, "Can you sign here? Next to 'Just Be Friends'. That's my favourite of…" Gumi trailed off, finally noticing Miku's approaching, stumbling figure. She blinked and watched as the teal idol walked towards Luka and inattentively buried her burning face into the pinkette's breasts, catching the marker Luka was holding in the process; leaving a black streak on her face.

Three blondes fought the urge to laugh.

Luka too, was surprised at the sudden contact. She noticed the black mark on Miku's cheeks and wanted to wipe it off, but decided to hold off for now, "Miku, dear, what's wrong?" A muffled mumbling through her breasts. Luka blinked and looked at Gumi apologetically and the goggled girl gave her a smile and a shrug. She patted the teal idol's head softly, "Sweetie, if you wanted an autograph so badly as well, all you had to do was ask me. You have plenty of opportunities to do so you know."

Miku pulled away and shook her head, wanting to glare but couldn't quite find the energy nor the coherency to do so. "I lost my balance. Or something." She turned and bowed to Gumi, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to come over and greet you, I'm a fan of your songs too. But I think Len is probably a bigger fan." Miku glanced at the young boy who was draped over the couch as he watched, starry eyed.

Gumi turned her head and looked at the younger boy who immediately became flustered and self-conscious; quickly sliding back on the couch to sit properly; headbutting his twin in the process. Rin quickly scolded him and gave him a smack on the head.

The teal idol sighed and turned to Gumi again, "Congratulations on the new album, Gumi. It's nice to finally meet you." Miku's stance swayed and Luka noticed, letting her shoulder support the girl slightly and Miku leaned towards her. They stood shoulder to shoulder and Miku continued, "It's amazing we've never met you before. Gakupo hung out with us enough times."

Gakupo turned at the mention of his name, "Well, she wasn't in a contract at the time and she was down in the Philippines anyways on vacation, so I saw no reason to?" Gumi glared, a bit peeved at her apparent past irrelevance.

Luka took the paper in Gumi's hand, signing it where Gumi had indicated earlier and handed the items to Miku who glanced at it briefly and drunkenly scribbled what was supposed to be her signature but ended up being some odd scribbles and strokes. Luka blinked and thought it looked close enough, taking back the paper and marker, capping it afterwards and handing both items back to the green-haired girl, inquiring, "The Philippines?"

Gumi took the paper and the marker, pocketing both and nodding, "Yeah. I've got some relatives there so I took a little vacation. When I got back, Gakupo told me about Internet Co. apparently wanting to scout me, and here I am."

Miku sighed, blowing her bangs a bit, "Must be nice… looks like Internet Co. doesn't have nearly as much producer drama or rumours going around like Crypton does."

"If you count out Lily." Luka quickly added. Lily hissed and glared.

"Well yeah." Miku nodded too, her drunken state of mind now making her choice of words careless, "That's sort of Crypton's issue too since it's about her and Meiko being lesbians."

Meiko glared from underneath Lily's legs, "Hey! I'm not the only apparent lesbian, you know!"

Miku shook her head, "That's the point, Meicchi." She looked through the room, "Actually, all of Crypton's female celebrities are all rumoured lesbians. Save for Rin." The bow tied blonde looked at Miku but kept quiet; some guilty thoughts of a crush from school racing through her mind, "I'm just wondering if I accidently joined a secret lesbian society instead of a production company is all…"

"Aah, but you don't seem to be too against the idea." Luka winked and poked one of Miku's scarlet cheeks.

The twin-tailed idol gave another pout. "Thanks to you, I have one more rumour to get rid of."

A tilt of the head made Gumi's hair fall in one direction, "Rumours?"

Another sigh escaped Miku's form. Luka could have sworn that was the millionth one for today. "Yeah. Long story short; aside from the producer drama, there are rumours that I'm apparently not real since I don't go out in public too much. This also sparked that I'm asexual and uninterested in love because I'm never seen on dates—which led to speculations that maybe I'm a lesbian thanks to 'magnet'."

Gumi gave the girl a sympathetic smile, "That's… a lot to deal with. And not recording too, right? I heard about that." Her manager had actually already told her to take advantage of the small hiatus from Crypton and take up as many releases as she could; but she wasn't about to say that in front of the distressed girl. News travelled quickly between companies, it seemed.

"Exactly! Argh! And Takanashi had the nerve to tell me to go out with 'some boys' to kill time while everything cools down and how it'll get rid of the other rumours in the process." Miku ruffled her bangs in frustration.

Kaito put the karaoke mic down and looked at the troubled girl, "Well… that would work, to be honest." He was met with a glare.

"Do you realize how distracting that would be? And how… weird? I can't just go out with 'some boys'… you know how fans get. And I don't even know how I'd act if one of them did anything… I might end up bashing their face in." The drunken girl clenched her first intimidatingly and realized her words were now bordering dangerous. She looked at Rin and Gakupo, "And what the hell was that drink anyways?" Gakupo raised his hands defensively and Rin grinned.

Luka patted Miku's head again, trying to calm the girl. Lily watched in silence with Meiko.

"You know… if you're so against the idea of going with 'some boys', how about you go out with someone you already know?" Meiko offered.

"Like who? These three?" Miku sounded rather indignant, motioning to the three males by the couch. Len tilted his head, wondering; Kaito gave a meek smile and Gakupo closed his eyes, arms crossed. "That would just start _even __more_ rumours, Meicchi."

Rin stood up and posed, winking at the intoxicated tealette. "How about we take it all in stride and you go out with me? We'll start up more rumours that way and maybe it'll jumble everything up." Most of the room gave her a deadpan expression.

Lily stood up and pointed to her apparent evil sibling, apparently picking up a good idea from Rin's joking statement. "How about Luka?"

Teal and pink sneered at her in unison, "What?" Miku put her hands on her hips, "That's one of the problems to start with, Lily."

The blonde gave her a grin and walked over to Luka, grabbing her shoulder, "I know. But listen. Since you don't want to go out with strangers or risk more rumours by going out with someone you know here, how about we get Luka to dress up as a boy?" Lily fashioned the pinkette's hair into something of a ponytail, letting her bangs fall on her face and the rest of her hair giving the illusion that she had gotten a boyish haircut, "It's someone you're already familiar with; it'll give you time to collaborate on your project, and since Luka already owns a massive collection of disguises and wigs, she fits the part perfectly." A grin met their eyes and they both knew Lily was right. Luka did have a vast amount of different styles of clothing as well as hair pieces since she often went out to town to go to restaurants and such—and with her booming popularity, she couldn't risk being recognized unless she wanted a horde following her wherever she went.

Luka swatted away Lily's hands and straightened out her hair again, offering Miku a rather serious look. "That's… actually not a bad proposal." This time, it was her who sighed, "What do you think, Miku? It's not really anything different. It's just that we'll go out more and I'll be dressing up as different boys." She crossed her arms, "I told you I would take you out to repay you anyways."

Miku gaped, blinked, and sat on the back of a couch for support, "What… arrgggh…" Her mind jumbled through all the possibilities as all eyes watched her process it all, "That's… why are you making sense right now, Lily? Is it because I'm drunk?"

The blonde looked at her form and smiled, "Come on, you know I'm right. This is the best deal for you too. You don't have to deal with strangers."

The teal-eyed idol looked up and glanced at the blonde, then to Luka, who was staring back at her—then to Lily again, "I… know…" she sighed, "but Luka's a total boob monster. How are we going to deal with that?"

Luka furrowed her eyebrows, not quite sure if she should take the statement as a compliment or an insult, "I'm quite good at binding chests, thank you. I can make myself look flat."

A smile and a victorious 'hehe' was let out and Lily flashed Luka a grin and a thumbs up.

Rin got up from the couch, grabbing the mic from Meiko and Kaito's hands, giving it to Len as 'Butterfly on Your Right Shoulder' started up. She spoke through the mic, pointing at Miku, "We'll help you out at school, Miku."

Gumi made her way to sit down next to her cousin, taking the spot Miku had occupied previously, "At school? What can you do there?"

Len stood up and took place next to his twin, "We'll spread counter rumours." He grinned at the green haired girl, "We'll start saying Miku's not hanging out with us as much because she's been busy with hanging out with other people."

Gumi 's eyes widened and she nodded, understanding what the twins intended to do, "Oh, I see now… maybe I can help too, somehow. I could help with the counter rumours? I can spread stuff through the net at least. I frequent some rather interesting communities… I… uh." The orange and green clad girl blinked, catching herself before she exposed some of her online habits, "Well, I can get something going real quick."

The twins nodded. Kaito, Meiko and Gakupo shook their heads at how easily carried away the young idols could get. "Don't spread anything unnecessary… lies beget trouble, you know." Kaito warned.

Lily grinned again and waved away Kaito's advice, "Don't worry, it'll be fine. It won't be completely baseless, right?" She looked to Luka for a confirmation.

The pinkette blinked, confused at the sudden development and just nodded, being carried away by the quick progression, "Uh… sure, yes. I'll act my part out to my best efforts."

Miku stayed seated on the back of the couch; her face buried in her hands, glowing with a mixture of intoxication and embarrassment. She had no idea how things had somehow been decided for her so quickly, but she honestly could not process any better idea at the moment than the one Lily had put on the table; and thus, gave no retort.

The room had settled on some kind of a plan.

This mission, apparently, was now under way.

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><p><em>Author's notes (agaaaain): Whoo! Apologies this took longer than I expected. As I said in chapter 3, chapter 5 was quite the monster to write. I think I was left with some emotional trauma or something, which is why it took me so long to get chapter 6 going and finished. Plus, I have to worry about my second half accelerated classes and all that stuff.<em>

_I actually skipped some lectures and opted to write this instead. Haha, don't learn from me, please._

_Chapter 7 is outlined and I'll try to finish that up soon so I can actually post chapter 5 here so you can see for yourself why this took me so long. If you're confused, my release schedule is explained on my profile, there's also little tidbits there like image guides and even more blathering._

_Chapter 5 is up next. Please do try to prepare yourselves. :)_

_Thanks. 'til next time. –Tsubom33 (neuroseki)_


	5. 5200cm

**The Distance These Hands Can Reach**

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><p>Chapter 5 – 5200cm<p>

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><p><em>Author's Notes: Finally, here's the chapter I've been blathering about for weeks now. It's really, really long. And I know my chapters are already pretty sizeable as it is; so please, get yourself seated with a cup of tea or something.<em>

_**Things** happen in this one. I hope you didn't get too comfortable. By the end of this chapter, most of you are either going to love me or hate me. Really. This chapter is the reason I added the 'Drama' genre a few chapters back._

_So, let's get on with it!_

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><p>"What a mess…"<p>

Saturday had come and gone; leaving Sunday to wake up to. The birds chirped happily in the branches of the blooming trees, contentedly enjoying a serene atmosphere that vastly contrasted the current living environment of one Megurine Luka.

Picking up empty bottles that littered what used to be a sparkling wooden floor just 24 hours before, she made her way into the kitchen to face a complacent woman nodding to herself, drinking freshly brewed tea by the young pinkette on the kitchen table. "What a mess indeed."

A crunch beneath her feet and a searing pain shooting through her nerves notified her that she had just stepped on an empty can. "Ffff…" She hissed and caught herself before she let out the expletive and hopped over onto the counter to place the empty bottles down and give herself leverage to look at her feet. "See? Now you've made me bleed."

Seated eyes shifted onto the leaning form and flatly responded, "That's a can of vegetable juice. I didn't drink that."

Luka looked the offending object and picked it up, positioning her feet so no blood would get on the floor; not that it matter since she'd be cleaning it all in a little bit anyways. "Oh." She glared at the crushed aluminum can and placed it on the counter; grabbing a napkin from the holder before she over-exaggeratingly hobbled over to take a seat on the same table as the brunette. "Well, still, it's a mess here."

"_You__'__re _a mess." Chocolate irises locked onto the pink form.

"What?" The pink haired girl pressed the napkin onto her foot, cleaning it of blood and observing the small cut. She'd have to get a bandaid for that later. "I'm fine, thank you. You're the one with a hangover. You think you'd know how to prevent that by now." She sighed.

Meiko rubbed her temples and grimaced, wondering the same thing. She really should know how to prevent this aftermath by now, but she waved it off; more focused on getting rid of the headache that plagued her at this moment rather than thinking of reminding herself how to prevent it in the future. "Not that. I meant you're a mess. This is a mess. This situation that you've got yourself in."

Teal eyes closed and polished fingers framed her face as she rested her hand on her palm, elbow on the table. "Honestly Meiko, I wouldn't call _that_a 'mess'. I don't know what to do, yes; I mean, I said it was a good idea and agreed, but I didn't think my silly games would take me this far."

The brunette pursed her lips in contemplation. They had talked it over the night before—it was actually the reason Meiko was in the pinkette's condo. The woman often came over to have a few drinks and hang out, but it seemed Luka had wanted to get a few things off her chest this time around. "Don't lie, they're not just games, are they? Since you're stressing over it so much… you wouldn't shut up at all last night."

Luka sighed, balling up the napkin held and skilfully tossing it into the garbage bin next to her kitchen counter, "Precisely. We did go over this last night during my inability to stop my blathering." The pinkette crossed her arms and scrunched her nose in some sort of irritated emotion, "They were games to start off with, but I don't know how I feel about it now."

Meiko leaned back on her chair and carefully sipped her tea; welcoming any sensation that wasn't the thumping pain in her head. "You never told me how you actually felt though. You just kind of ranted all night about how easy it is to tease her and how you can't stop doing it." Another sip. A sigh. "You know, the way you said she acts and from what I've observed from her reactions with you, I'm pretty sure she isn't running on empty feelings here either, Luka. If you tread that path, you have to be careful with those feelings. She is sixteen, you know."

The pink-haired idol knitted her eyebrows and let one of her teal-polished nails thump against her cheek. "I realize that." The pinkette had not told Meiko that Miku had somewhat confessed and rejected her in pretty much the same sentence just four days before; nor had she told her about the kiss that happened right after the brunette had imposed on her with a call and a visit. A rosy tint hinted at her cheeks as she recalled the memory and how both her and Miku didn't seem to mind the shared connection at all and they actually seemed to rather like it. "She's pretty confusing though. You know; says one thing, does the other. Gosh, I wish she'd be a bit clearer on what she wants. Honestly."

Brown eyes half glared, muttering under her breath 'Tsundere?' before shaking her head and going to back to leer at Luka, flatly stating, "She's sixteen."

Luka pursed her lips again, a little frustrated that she was going in circles once more in her thoughts, "Well, she shouldn't be ki—eh… she shouldn't be so… I don't know Meiko!" A huff was let out as she pushed her hair to behind her ear.

The crimson clad woman blinked; not used to seeing Luka lose her composure like that, even if it was just for a moment, "Well, in any case; it's not Miku's feelings we're trying to establish right now. It's yours."

"…" Indignant teal eyes held their silence.

"Just answer this one question." Meiko pondered for a second; wondering what single question she could ask the girl that would give form to whatever she felt. "Uh… would you marry her?"

An incredulous expression quickly found its way onto Luka's face, "What! What kind of question is that? Honestly, Meiko."

The brunette laughed nervously and apologized; she wasn't too used to this sort of emotional chaos. "I'm sorry. But really though; just simplify that a bit. Do you want to go out with her? Like, dates and stuff. And I do mean with an ulterior motive; not just the play dates you've planned."

Luka shifted, her fingers playing with the fresh cut on her foot by continuously putting pressure on it, effectively stopping the bleeding in the process, "I'm… nervous." She saw Meiko blink and she felt her own heartbeat pump faster, "Even with just what was planned… going out in disguise and helping dispel those silly rumours floating about. I feel like it'd be false pretension on my part since…" the pinkette out what sounded like an irritated groan and her gaze shifted around the room and rested on the floor, leaving her sentence unfinished. Her mind flashed once more to the kiss, occasionally repeating scenes from the times she had been close to the teal idol; scenes of their time in rehearsal, in the concert, and something that caught Luka off-guard; a picture flashed in her mind's eye of the time she had pulled Miku into her bed.

Meiko finished off her tea and set the cup on the table; keeping her gaze intently on the pink girl in front of her; a bit intrigued at the sudden pause of her sentence and her disconnected observation of the floor, "Since…?"

Another sigh. Maybe Miku's habits had gotten to her. Megurine Luka was no stranger to feelings of attraction and romance, no. She had indulged in many experiences like such in her past, but felt that the experienced she managed to amass in that time didn't really help with the situation on hand. The few individuals that graced her attentions had all approached her and initiated the start of whatever relationship might have bloomed. The past few months; she had been playing forward—finding it quite fun to play a few games and be a tease. She never considered that she might have to play that strategy for real; so now that _certain_ feelings might be blooming alongside the foliage outside, she was finding it rather frustrating. She knew at this point that if she played it that way; her actions would be cast off as part of the little act the pair had built up around them.

Regardless, at that point in time, she saw no reason to keep dragging her friend around in circles about her emotions; considering Meiko had stayed to hear her rant up until now. "Since… I want to… go out with her on these dates properly."

The brunette's ears perked at Luka's choice of words. "Properly?"

Luka tapped her finger against her cheek again and scratched very lightly in a show of unease, "Properly…" she coughed. "…seriously." She held her breath for a long while, looking for a response out of the brunette. Seeing none, her form slouched ever so slightly as she exhaled, "Since I will be taking her on these dates as if we really were going out; I don't believe it'd be all too fair for us to go on the assumption that we're just doing it for work; even though that's part of the reason why I want to go out with her too. However, I don't want her to know how I feel, considering she's not interested in relationships and romance and I don't even know if she even likes girls that way though she probably doesn't mind but anyways, can you imagine the uproar it would cause if we actually started going out with each other? It's the one thing we're actually trying to get rid talks of and here I am, stating that I want to take her out on these things as if she were my girlfriend and I don't even want to think about the things that would cause to both of our careers—goodness, everyone can be so closed-minded sometimes!"

"Woah woah woah," Meiko stared and held up a hand to her forehead, "Headache."

Luka inhaled deeply and sat up properly in her chair, a bit embarrassed at the sudden train of words. "I apologize."

"So, okay." The brunette blinked a few times, trying to sort out the attack of words in her mind, "If I got that correctly, you want to actually take Miku out on dates for real, like with intention of getting closer to her, right?" She looked at the pinkette and received a nod.

Luka had liked the way the short-haired woman had somehow worded her feelings so accurately yet so delicately; very much unlike her unstructured jabber.

Meiko scratched her head and pushed her hair back a bit, trying to process the rest of Luka's drivel. "And you're concerned about her not feeling that way even though you—we think she's got the same feelings. But you're mostly concerned about how it's going to affect her career, probably because being a performer and making music is the world to her. Right?"

The pinketted nodded, "Precisely. You told me to be careful with her feelings, but you don't have to worry about that. Goodness, if anything, I think I'm being too careful."

The short-haired brunette shook her head, "No such thing. How you're going about it is right, I think. You can make assumptions left and right here, and it's really easy to do and just run away with what you feel and act impulsively; but that's careless."

Luka pursed her lips into a small, disgruntled frown.

Meiko noticed the the pinkette's childish expression. "…what?"

"I'm… bad at controlling impulses." She fidgeted with her ocean-hued fingers and her cut foot swayed beneath the tabled, "Especially around her."

Meiko fought off a laugh that threatened to come up as she observed the rather childish looking Luka. It was cute, in a way; she never expected the lady of the idol clique to possess such a frivolous nature as well. "Well, too bad. If you don't want to hurt her, figure out how she feels first. Know that she's a teenager and she'll have different thoughts every two seconds and will probably end up being stupid sometimes…" She smiled and crossed her arms; the amusement clearing her head a bit of the aches she suffered since awakening , "…but that's the only way to go about it if you care about not hurting Miku—it prevents getting hurt yourself as well."

Luka grumbled something incoherent about being impulsive again and Meiko couldn't resist but to lightly flick the distracted pinkette's forehead.

Brown eyes squinted with the grin that the chocolate haired woman gave, "Get a hold of yourself. You know if you rush it you'll end up pushing her away; and I know you don't want that."

Luka sighed. Again. Miku's habits had _definitely_ gotten to her. These endless sighs and her little outburst and this slur of incomprehensible emotions—they were all definitely picked up from the teenager. Megurine Luka was far more graceful than this. Yes. There was _absolutely __no __way_ she could be this fickle. She reflected on Meiko's words and couldn't help but agree completely. "I suppose I don't. I will go with what we have originally planned. I'll help and go on these dates with innocent intentions. I won't do anything unless Miku indicates otherwise."

Though Luka had sounded sarcastic, Meiko understood that the girl was serious in her words. The rose-haired girl in front of her was indeed older than most of the other idols, but even though she was 20, she was still finding her ground and Meiko understood that. Luka was quite proper in more ways than one; nearly perfect in her mannerisms and speech around people deemed important or respectful—so, she found it quite darling whenever she witnessed the roseate girl with her guard down and full of uncertainties. The way she carried herself was so sure and graceful; the only other side most people would see would be the Loki-esque teasing of hers to one Hatsune Miku; so few would think that the pinkette too would have such worries to pour out to her. "Good. Now, show me who you're going to be tomorrow. I don't want our little star to be seen going out with some raggedy looking chav."

Luka stood up from her chair and crossed her arms, a bit offended. "I have some experience with this, thank you. We did end up choosing me since I tend to dress up the most." She turned on her the balls of her feet, completely forgetting about the cut she had gotten just a few minutes before and proceeded to her room to show the woman what she had laid out for the next day when she was to meet up with a certain twin-tailed girl.

Sunday had come and gone, albeit not as quickly a Saturday had seemed to flee. Monday morning was a blur for most, if they were even conscious in the waking hours. For about half of the idol cast; it meant the conscious day started off with an unpleasant ring of an alarm, a blur of preparation and some kind of actual alertness at the ring of another chime.

A familiar scale rang out, letting the student body know that class was to start in a mere five minutes. A yawning figure shuffled its way through the halls, heading for the stairs in intention to go to the second floor where the day awaited her with a start of classical literature. A step was all she could climb before she was ambushed by two yellow heads.

"Miku! Good morning!" In unison, they greeted. Len's eyes shone with an apprehensive excitement, "Where are you going after school? You're meeting up with Luka right? Right?" Rin quickly shushed Len, reminding him not to mention the pinkette's name so blatantly.

The teal girl blinked and nodded, smiling crookedly, "Yeah. It's the first day we're going to try this… silly plan." She saw Rin raise an eyebrow from the corner of her eye, scrutinizing her reactions. "We're not doing anything anything special, really? Just that... it's not 'her' I'll be going with. It's whoever she's disguised as." Miku blinked for a moment, "Actually, to be honest, I'm not sure I'll know how I'll recognize her if she's going to be in disguise. She hasn't shown me what she'll look like."

Rin fiddled with the bow on top of her head, trying to straighten it as she spoke, "Really? That's kind of lame. I wanted to know what she'll be dressing up as…"

Miku shifted her weight and the school bag she held, "Well, you can just see for yourself after school? She said she'll be coming here to pick me up. You know, more exposure to the public and all that."

The older Kagamine shook her head, but it was Len who spoke up, "We have music club after school."

"Ah…" Miku nodded and pushed them aside, noting that she was quickly running out of time to get to her classroom, "Well, that's a problem then. Maybe some other day?"

The twins watched her ascending figure and pouted, "That's not the same!" Miku waved them off and continued the flights. "Take lots of pictures!" the twins yelled as she disappeared from their view—quickly running to their classroom as well.

The morning passed by rather uneventfully and Miku found herself staring out the window and let the scattered placement of the brown trees and the buds on their branches overwhelm her view. It was about that time that the sakura were to blossom and in but a few weeks, the school's courtyard would be littered in a flurry of pink petals. She eyed the few early bloomers in the sunny areas right by the entrance gate as she twirled her pen; letting her thoughts drift about on the subject of the pastel colour; eventually arriving at thoughts of her date later. 'Ah, right, I should probably figure out how we're going to meet…' the teal eyed girl put her pen down on her desk and discreetly reached into the singular pocket of her skirt, pulling out her phone and sending a mail.

[You're going to meet me at school, right?] A message was sent and Miku was thankful that her phone was a touchscreen to avoid making any telltale noises.

A buzz a couple minutes later alerted her to a response. [Yes, I'll be there before the last class ends.]

[I won't know what you look like. What are you going to be wearing?] Miku furrowed her eyebrows, just now thinking how Luka would pull this off.

[Aha, be patient. I want it to be a surprise. Is there a landmark around there that we could just meet up at?] Miku raised an eyebrow at Luka's message, wondering why she would want to keep it a surprise, but ultimately just decided to let it slide for now.

She looked out the window again. [There's some cherry trees already blooming by the entrance gate. The bigger one has a rice straw rope around it, so just wait there.]

[Understood. I'll be there.]

The teal haired girl replied a simple 'Okay.' before locking her phone and pocketing it again; trying her best to pretend that derivatives interested her.

Not so far away, the recipient of the messages also locked her phone. She set it down on the bathroom counter and continued to weave intricate and large braids in her hair, making it as flat and form fitting as possible. Her mass of hair had taken all morning to dry after her shower—and now comes the arduous task of composing her bountiful locks into French braids. It was always rather tiring to put on short hair wigs for her, but she made sure not to express the extra effort to anyone; not wanting to cause unnecessary stress. This was something she had wanted to do anyways.

The precise weaving took the rest of her morning and it was around 1pm that she actually finished it all, opting to let the ends of her locks fall over loosely on top of her head. Then, carefully, she took an opaque, skin coloured cap and pulled it over everything, pulling it down securely to make sure it followed the natural contours of her head well. She trimmed the excess off the bald cap and took some liquid adhesive to the edges to secure it down onto her skin. Some skilfully placed concealer and powder later, Luka giggled. She was too good at this. She posed a few times, a bit amused at her apparent bald self; stopping when she realized the back of what was supposed to be her skull was all lumpy from the hair hidden beneath.

She grimaced and took more of the liquid adhesive, applying it carefully onto the underlying fabric of the short brown wig she was to wear; placing it carefully onto the cap atop her head, once again pulling firmly to fit the form of her skull. The locks hid the imperfections the bald cap could not and she felt pride welling up as she observed her work. Indeed, without the flowing pink locks; she no longer initially looked like Megurine Luka. "I look like quite a handsome boy if I do say so myself…" she complimented herself, posing and smiling. She puffed her chest in delight, but her face quickly fell again. "Now to bind my chest…"

On the school grounds, Miku had spent a quiet day by herself. She thought the twins would be more excited about learning more about the 'date' to come later in the day, but the quiet lunch she spent alone was a bit surprising. She herself had been looking forward to talk about it; but she found out later that the two had been in their club room during lunch. Rin had mailed her, mentioning something about learning more about the newest member of the club. What was her name again? She had peach hair and had a long ponytail that made Miku think of Gakupo's own impressive hairstyle. "Ne…Nekomura?" She pursed her lips, thinking that it was a strange sounding name and that she surely had it off somehow, but her mind could not come up with a different moniker. Perhaps she was melding the Hello Kitty image of the girl with her actual name… "Or maybe that _is_ her actual name…" Miku whispered under her breath, making the student in front of her turn to wonder if she had been talking to him. Miku quickly waved him off and silently apologized and the other student turned back to his work.

It was the last class of the day and Miku's gaze shifted back outside the window; looking at the rope clad tree she had indicated to meet at earlier. She saw no figure and wondered if Luka was running late; there was only 15 minutes left until the final bell rang, after all.

Unbeknownst to the small idol, Luka had already arrived; though a lot later than she had planned. Binding her chest took a lot more effort than she remembered and redoing the wraps just right so she could give off a flat enough look and be able to breathe took a bit of her time. Regardless, she had still arrived at the indicated cherry tree before the last bell rung and she leaned against it to catch her breath.

Looking up, she observed the branches of the tree, shining with the sun's glow. It was well lit and warm here, no wonder it had bloomed so early. Smiling, the now brown haired, wigged Luka grabbed a low branch, snapping a petite and straight branch off of it; the ever recognizable blossom arranged at the tip catching her attention.

Busy, trimmed and unpolished fingers worked to clean the small rigid branch of stray growth as the petite form leaned against the blossoming tree.

When the chime had rang out, Miku grabbed her bag and immediately went for the door. A growing anxiety welled up inside her as she dextrously descended the school steps and shuffled through the student body to stop at another classroom on the ground floor. Two blondes filtered out from the mass that walked through the halls and the pair was a bit surprised to find their friend waiting for them. Len looked at the girl trying to catch her breath, "Miku? Are you okay?"

The tealette nodded and looked at the other twin, "Rin. I need to talk to you."

Rin blinked and nodded knowingly at her brother; the younger Kagamine nodding back before going ahead to the music room for club activities. He knew that Rin and Miku sometimes had to talk face to face; it involved matters he was not so well-versed in; or so he assumed anyways.

The white ribboned girl led Miku to a lesser populated area of the hallway; a path where the general student body didn't really need to pass through to get to where they had wanted to go. Miku followed, catching her breath on the way, trying to form sentences in her mind in a futile attempt to construct what she was going to explain to Rin.

The shorter blonde faced the teal idol; a stare was all that was needed to prompt the girl into speaking. "My mind is filled with pink."

Rin shook her head and blinked in confusion, a bit taken at Miku's cryptic words. "What?"

"My thoughts. It's all pink. She won't get out of my head, Rin. I don't think I can do this. I'm too embarrassed." The teal girl shot out short sentences as she clutched her head with both hands; her schoolbag almost hitting her.

"Okay. Wait." Rin grabbed Miku's hands and lowered them, enticing the girl to calm down. "First off, you can't back down now. Knowing Luka, she's probably already on school grounds. Second, are you saying that you have those feelings for her, Miku?"

The twin-tailed girl took a deep inhale, "First off, I know. Second, I _don__'__t_ know." She fidgeted with the handle of her bag. "She's outside by entrance. And well, I told you, I get all confused when I'm around her. My feelings are all jumbled and I can't make sense of them. I get anxious and I feel like my stomach is going to fall out of my butt. I don't know if that's because she's the first to be so close to me and still act this way or if because I like her or what. It's not unlikeable; I actually really enjoy her company and all, but I'm still extremely nervous."

"Okay, rant mode off." Rin put her hand on her hip and stared at her friend, "You need to calm down, Miku. Feeling like you do is normal. I'm pretty sure you like her, but we all know you're not going to listen to anything definitive right now." Miku nodded. Rin swung her bag lightly in thought, "So for now, you should probably go meet up with her. You need to figure out your own feelings, and that's going to take at the very least a few hours. Use this opportunity to find out how you feel; you'll be with her all day anyways."

Miku half whined and nodded, knowing Rin was right. She knew that as the moments passed by, Luka would be experiencing another moment of waiting. Although she had only seeked Rin out of impulse and anxiety; it made her feel better to hear the girl's opinions reinforcing her own. Still, her emotions right now were in chaos and she couldn't help but whimper at her best friend and sigh, "I guess… I just wanted to figure things out before I had to go actually face it I guess. I should probably go meet with Luka now." The blonde nodded and the teal haired girl turned and made way for the shoe cabinets and towards the exit, waving as she parted. "Thanks Rin! Tell me about Nekowhatever somethingorother later!"

Rin rolled her eyes and yelled to her friend, "Have fun! And it's Iroha! Nekomura Iroha!"

A slightly spicy apple scent filled the air as a stern voice caught Rin off-guard. "Yes?" The blonde gasped and turned to face the rich gold orbs belonging to the red-bowed girl that uttered the question. "Ah… Kagamine-san."

Rin gulped, fighting the crawling warmth going to her face. These silly reactions were absolutely unforgivable.

Outside the building, a fleeting commotion could be heard. While there would usually be a scattered amount of students left considering the minutes after the final bell; today seemed to be an exception. In particular, the often sparsely occupied area around the entrance gate was now populated with an unorganized amount of girls fawning over the sight of a mysteriously gorgeous boy underneath their landmark cherry tree.

The said 'boy' paid them no heed, being somewhat used to the attentions of fans—though the two groups were different in regard, they were fundamentally the same. Both groups admired he—him, from afar and some would occasionally be more daring and either speak a greeting or a friendly gesture. Being courteous; the boy always greeted back, effectively incapacitating the minds of those that received the attention.

A quick glance at the phone in his pocket and a sigh later; the short haired figure noticed a teal presence heading towards the entrance. A relieved exhale followed as the brunette swiped away short locks and shifted weight onto his legs; carrying the form to face the entrance. The left hand clutched a small, long object, so the free right hand was left to wave at the oncoming twin-tailed girl.

Miku quirked her head and wondered who the ununiformed young man waving at her was. She felt the intense leer of numerous girls and she slowed her pace, wondering that the menacing aura that was suddenly brought down upon her meant.

The boy smiled and walked towards the confused Miku; letting teal eyes squint behind the red frames of the glasses his features wore as _he_ grinned. Miku felt a familiarity from the expression as the boy took an object from his hand and showed her briefly before simultaneously putting it one of her pigtails as he softly whispered, "It's me, Miku."

The young idol gaped; a bit taken aback at both the ridiculously pretty decoration that she caught a glimpse of and at the realization of who was in front of her, "Holy… Luka?" A smile was given as a response. "Oh my gosh. What. You don't even… I couldn't even tell."

"That's the point, sweetie." Luka straightened the makeshift blossom barrette that she had stuck into Miku's hair. "I'm not exactly supposed to look like myself here, you know."

The commotion from earlier had started to dissipate; the admiring girls that had gathered now making their way about the rest of their day, feeling a bit heartbroken at the realization that Hatsune Miku had already claimed their new target of affection. Some felt bitter, but most realized that only a few could compete with the teal diva.

Miku took a half step back and observed her companion; fully taking in the fact that she was to go on a sort of date with her. Luka looked nothing like she usually did—in addition to her utterly convincing short haired fringe wig, she donned a loose shirt, dark, loose denims that worked together to hide her very womanly hips quite well. Her choice of the non-functional belt and thin strap that hung loosely around her also helped distract from her curvy figure. Miku also noted that Luka wasn't kidding when she said she could bind rather well. She looked almost flat—there were telltale signs, but from a fleeting view, it just looked like she had a bit of a chest and that's it; nothing to really give her gender away. The dark vest and long necklace she wore helped conceal this small imperfection in her disguise.

"Wow…" her teal eyes wandered before meeting Luka's own teal orbs, "I feel… severely underdressed." Miku looked down at her own school uniform that consisted of the typical pleated skirt and slightly oversized blazer. Quickly, she took out her phone and framed a shot of this… _boy_ in front of the blooming cherry trees. "For the twins. They demanded pictures."

Luka blinked and shook her head, "It's okay. We're not trying to be glamorous; we're just letting people see us being together." She grinned at her not-so-ambiguous choice of words. "Besides, you have those blossoms for a barrette now. I made it myself, you know; using a branch from that tree you made me wait so long next to."

The teal haired girl's eyes widened slightly and she apologized for keeping her waiting.

"Don't worry about it, darling. I was just joking. It's good you took your time, otherwise I wouldn't have had time to fashion that into something so nice." Luka balled her hand into a fist and rested it on her hip, tyring not to look too girly. She winked. "Pink looks good on you."

Miku blushed in embarrassment—in more than one way of embarrassment at that. "T-thank you. Sorry. Should we get going?"

Luka nodded, walking beside her _date_. "I used the trains to get here… I almost forgot what lines went to where. It's been a while since I rode." Miku nodded, knowing that Luka pretty much commuted by car everywhere she went. "I'd like to just drive us everywhere, but I don't think that'd be such a good idea."

The teal haired girl cocked her head to the side in rumination, "Why not?" she innocently asked. She thought it'd surely be a lot more convenient if Luka drove.

"Well, my car is too easily recognizable. And even if no one realizes that's Megurine Luka's car; there's also the fact that it'd be weird if different guys that I'd be dressing up as came to pick you up from school or take you out or back home in the same car. It's just too easily suspicious."

Miku raised her eyebrows and tilted her head up in understanding , "Ah… you're right. So I guess we'll take the lines for our… …dates."

They absentmindedly walked towards the station and Luka slyly linked arms with the younger girl, finding amusement in the sure blush that she elicited from the young star. "It gives more chances for the public eye to scrutinize us anyways."

The pair made their way of the high school campus—which coincidentally was holding a rather exciting performance in the music room in that same moment. Amongst the audience were twin idols, watching in awe at the mock recital of their new recruit, Nekomura Iroha.

The petite girl had a solid, strong voice that was surprisingly rich and in a range that many would not expect. The way the ponytailed girl had portrayed herself with her Hello Kitty paraphernalia surely brought about images of a cute poppy singer with a limited range just above the modal register—not that Iroha couldn't reach that; her voice carried a singing prowess that blew away her spectators.

Rin felt a vibration in her skirt pocket and checked it real quick, letting her gaze tear off of the peach haired girl finishing her performance. The mail had come from none other than Miku.

[Picture taken. I'll show you later. Too busy to attach it here. We're getting off at the station now, gonna go to the shopping district.] Rin read the message and pocketed her phone again; poking Len to give him a thumbs up and a gesture for what he assumed to be twin tails. Len nodded, understanding the gestures, as cryptic as they were. It mean that Miku had gotten what they wanted to see and they'd see it soon enough.

Len stood up from his chair and took the initiative to praise Iroha, "Wow, Nekomura-sa—"

"Iroha." A simple but solid cut in.

"I…roha!" The sudden response from the peach-haired girl surprised him. Or rather, it kind of scared him. "That was awesome. Wow. Have you taken any lessons? That was undoubtedly a professional performance."

Iroha stayed silent and Rin got up from her seat to join her brother's praise. "It's true. Even with our studios, it's rare to hear such a surprising voice, Iroha."

The peach haired girl nodded and let her long ponytail sway back and forth as she looked between the two yellow students. "You're from Crypton."

The twins nodded, a bit uncomfortable under Iroha's stern gaze and even more stern and short responses. "I'm from AH Software. I just got contracted recently." She took a moment to bow a bit too deeply to them. The twins were once again surprised at the petite girl's actions rather than her words. "I look forward to working and competing with you. I have looked up to both of you during my progression. I'm honoured to be in the same club."

Rin smiled embarrassedly, trying to wave off the compliments and the choking formality. The rest of the club gawked at the scene; it was amazing enough that they had two celebrities in the club, but now to add another to the arsenal—most felt unworthy and excited at the same time. Rin sensed this and decided to try and pacify the growing tension. "Please, drop the formalities. We're all just students here and all we're interested in is making friends alongside making or just enjoying music. You've been with this club for quite a while so you should know we're not really all business. I'm actually a bit surprised it took you this long to do a mock recital, your application performance was great…"

Iroha stood straight and blinked a bit. "I was shy."

Rin gawked. Shy? This girl came off as anything but shy. She showed no outward signs of it anyways. She looked so confident and straightforward. "Ah… well, no need to be. To tell the truth, I've been looking forward to hearing you sing again. I guess you have been rather quiet. I'm glad you've started taking things up here." She grinned and held out her hand. Iroha looked at it confusedly, "I've taken an interest in you, Iroha. I'll be glad to work with you." Rin felt a blush creeping up to her face at her own choice of words but tried to pay it no mind as she offered the handshake to the girl. Len visibly gawked at his twin's actions, realizing full well now what the girl felt. Oh, this was going to be interesting.

The red bow atop Iroha's ponytail swished as she nodded. A blush crept to her cheeks as she took Rin's hand and shook it, "Thank you, Kagamin—"

"Rin." The girl copied Iroha's stern pose from earlier, making the golden eyes of Iroha flicker with a very slight twinge of embarrassment. "And my brother is Len. You know that already, most likely, but please call us by our given names or else we won't know who you are talking about."

Iroha looked at the younger boy who gave her a smile in return. "Understood."

In the same city, two pairs of teal eyes rested upon a life-sized cut-out of a petite girl overwhelmed in products that featured Sanrio's trademark mascot. The twin-tailed girl scrutinized the promo object and her brown haired companion stood next to her questioningly, "Ah, look. It says AH Software… I guess they got a new recruit. Let's see… 'an exciting collaboration between AHS and Sanrio…', huh." Luka flipped through the promotional booklets on display.

Miku kept staring, gears churning in her head before she finally noticed the long, salmon-coloured ponytail on the cut-out. "Nekomura Iroha." She nodded and looked at Luka, who gave her a puzzled expression, "She goes to my school. Len and Rin have music club with her… Rin won't shut up about her." The tealette nodded, now realizing. "No wonder. I had no idea she was contracted. I guess that's why Rin is so interested."

Luka nodded in understanding, "I guess if that's the case then we should meet her soon." She looked around the area they were at and spotted a small café. "By the way, are you hungry?"

Miku tilted her head at the sudden prompt. "A little bit. Are you?"

The former pinkette's stomach growled in response. She gave a crooked smile, "I didn't have time to eat this morning. And after tasting your home-cooked breakfast, I'm still a bit sad that you're not coming over every morning to make breakfast for me." She winked at her twin-tailed companion, grabbing her arm lightly to drag her over to the charming store.

Miku half-glared. She wasn't against the idea of cooking in the morning; it was really no extra effort on her part to do so since she already made too much for herself every day. She usually saved the leftovers to snack on when she got home, but always felt it'd be better if she had someone to share her meals with. Aside from being slightly lonely at the single person setting, she also felt it a waste when she had to throw away the inevitable extras she couldn't eat. Still, Luka was implying she'd go out of her way to go to her condo and cook a meal for her. "Maybe I would if you didn't live on the opposite side of the city."

Luka pouted as she opened the door to the café, letting Miku in first. "Maybe I should move in with you then."

The tealette took a quick glance behind her and hissed at the glasses clad _boy_. "Don't get ahead of yourself. This is our first date and you're already talking about moving in?" She playfully jabbed.

Luka smiled, feeling at ease with Miku's jaunty mood, "Well, it could be a possibility, right?" She grinned, playing innocent and followed the twin-tailed girl inside the warm café.

A roll of the eyes and crossed arms was all that was given as a reply. Miku went up to the counter and eyed a green onion croissant, politely ordering it along with a cup of the hot pomegranate black tea that was displayed as the day's pick. Luka followed, standing next to the tealette and overall being a bit too close as she ordered the same tea and a rather lavish looking dessert crêpe to go along with it.

They enjoyed their time together; falling into the familiarities of hanging out like they would on any other given day. The circumstances escaped their attentions well; Miku only snapping back to what was arranged when she observed Luka's disguised self. The brown hair and the red frame of the glasses she wore were really throwing her off. She admired at the skill the older girl must possess to put together such a convincing disguise. However, Miku would quickly get dragged away by the mood once more and eventually paid the disguise no mind.

Luka's naturally polite mannerisms translated to her being rather gentlemanly on the date; holding doors open for the tealette, letting her into places first, pulling out chairs, grabbing things for her and overall just being really doting and caring. Although Luka had decided to treat this date as if she really was going out with Hatsune Miku, these mannerisms were second nature to her; a habit that she noted as a perk considering that Miku seemed to be liking the attentions.

And indeed, Miku was. The seemingly permanent blush and the crawling warmth that decorated her face was an obvious sign for herself. She recognized the electric feelings fluttering through her hands and arms and wondered if it was the fact that Luka looked like _such_ a charming boy that made her extra flustered or if the feelings she had been doting on for the past few weeks were now all coming through because _they__were_ on a date—false pretense or not. These were still the things that couples did together.

Such concerns and thoughts flew about the pseudo-couple's heads as they roamed the shopping district; Luka taking extra care not to show any mannerisms that would come off at too feminine. Surprisingly, clothes shopping took most of their time. Luka insisted that Miku help her pick out some new garments for future _dates_ and the teal haired girl obliged; finding some fun in dressing up her partner.

All in all, they had found the date enjoyable. They had made plans to meet up again the next day to check out the space observatory nearby; Miku teasing Luka about her rather 'nerdy' interests in the universe though admitting that she too was intrigued by the subject. When the time arrived for their inevitable parting; both felt a sort of awkward and slightly embarrassing mood dawn upon them—not quite sure if there should be some show of affection or not. Both had wanted something of the sort, but eventually they laughed about, deciding despite their inner turmoil that this was _just_ an act, after all. They shouldn't get carried away with what they had planned.

Luka was a bit more disappointed than the other, but smiled anyways; giving Miku a wink and blowing a kiss in her direction to ward off the seemingly heavy mood they were left with as the tealette waved and gave a slight blush with an unreadable expression through the train's window.

Traversing their separate ways—both girls felt like they were going to pass out the moment they reached their respective dwellings.

The disguised Luka didn't even bother putting away the bags that contained her purchases of the day, instead opting to leave it on the coffee table as she headed for the bathroom to carefully wash off the glue from the bald cap she wore, prying it off carefully. The wig firmly stuck to the cap and the way it fitted to it pleased Luka. At least it'd be slightly easier to prepare for tomorrow now that the two headpieces she wore were now combined into one. She started undoing the braids in her hair as she turned on the shower head, opting for a quick wash rather than relaxing in a bath. All she wanted to do right now was finish quickly so she could head to bed and try to sort out her thoughts and feelings about a certain pseudo-girlfriend of hers as she tried to fall asleep.

Miku arrived a bit later, thanks to the train needing to stop due to excess debris on the tracks. How debris collected on the gated area, she couldn't quite figure out, but the sudden stop had scared her and everyone else on board. It was abrupt, too sudden for anyone's liking and Miku thought for sure they were going to get into some kind of crash. Her paranoia was quickly calmed by the PA system announcing the delay, however. When she reached her home, she quickly changing out of her uniform and took a quick bath; scrutinizing the day in her mind. Her feelings had certainly solidified today but she felt more scattered than ever. The earlier scare was no help.

After her hair had dried well enough, she decided to head to bed, rolling herself in the sheets to escape the biting cold that pierced the dark room. With closed eyes, her mind super focused on the events of the day and she felt the blankets warm up quickly to match the temperature on her face. Luka dominated her mind and though she had escaped her thoughts many times before; now that they had gone on some kind of actual date, it seemed like she couldn't think of anything else. She had wanted to figure out what her true feelings were concerning the pink haired idol, but the circumstances she stood on were a bit complex. Indeed, she felt a closer connection to Luka today, but was that because she was more comfortable with her disguise? Luka acted the way she usually did, so Miku understood that she was being silly and quite shallow if the simple act of dressing up differently and into the other gender was the push she needed to admit that she liked Luka.

"…" Her eyes shot open and stared up into the darkness. "Like… Luka." She quickly shut her eyes and again rolled to her side, burying her burning face into the pillow. "Oh my gosh. I like…" she let her muffled voice trail off as she shook her head into her pillow, lost in the sudden realization.

Sleep would be a difficult thing to discover tonight.

The sun eventually dawned onto Tuesday morning; leaving another hazy blur of preparation behind. Tell-tale dark spots under the twin-tailed girl's eyes showed just how much—or rather, how _little_ sleep she had gotten. A yawn escaped her as she walked into the school building; expectedly being ambushed by the yellow twins as she changed her into her indoor shoes. "Give me a second."

The twin hurricanes stared giddily at their teal friend as she put her street shoes where they belonged and took out her phone from her pocket, browsing and swiping leisurely before holding the screen out towards the bright pair.

"Who is that?" Len asked, staring at the brown haired entity showing on the phone's display.

"Is that Luka? Holy crap." Rin observed the picture carefully, taking in all of the details. If that was indeed Megurine Luka, she would have to shower her with compliments later. She looked nothing like herself.

Len gaped at Rin's words, staring at Miku for confirmation which he quickly received with a small nod. "What, whoa. She's cuter than me!" He held up his hands to his face in some kind of offense, "That's not fair!"

Miku covered her mouth with her free hand as she yawned again, locking and pocketing the phone as she walked past the twins ,"Yep." A blush crept to her features. Rin noticed. "That was her. She caused a commotion at the entrance yesterday. I think some of the girls there were trying to kill me with glares."

RIn grinned and pressed her cheek to Miku's shoulder, staring slyly at the tired girl, "How'd it go~?"

Miku blinked and shied away slightly, "It was… good? It wasn't anything different really, like I said… just the things we'd normally do." A blush appeared on her cheeks.

Len titled his head and innocently asked, "What's wrong, Miku? Your face is all red."

Miku looked at the younger twin and gave him a stern glare, "Thanks Len, you didn't have to point that out."

The bowtied Kagamine grinned wider, "Ohoho~" she poked Miku's cheek. "Details please."

Miku let out an exasperated groan and saw Len nodding and agreeing to his twin's statements as usual. "Later. At lunch."

The twins shook their head. "Club."

Miku furrowed her eyebrows, a bit disappointed that she would be eating alone once again. And it's not like she didn't want to talk about it; she really wanted to sort out her lingering thoughts about the previous day and couldn't really think of any better confidants other than her best friends. "Okay, after school? Luka's meeting me up at the station past the hill this time around, so we can walk together for a bit."

Len nodded and grinned, "I have some things to tell you too. About Rin."

The older Kagamine gave him a confused look, a bit offended somehow, "Me? What about me?" Miku raised her eyebrows; a bit curious herself.

The ponytailed boy laughed lightly and got a punch in the arm for doing so, "Just that you've… 'taken an interest' in a certain someone in the club."

Rin's features grew a dark red.

Miku stifled a knowing giggle. "Oh? What's this? Rin has a crush?"

"I do not!" She threw her arms up in exasperation.

Len lowered his eyelids in a knowing and teasing gaze; an expression that wasn't too common for the boy, "It's okay, sis, no need to be dishonest about it." He grinned and looked at Miku. "She announced it to the entire club too."

Miku's hand went to her mouth in shock.

"What!" Rin gritted her teeth, "That wasn't what I meant! I swear Len, if you keep twisting the truth, I'll twist your neck."

Len put up his open palms defensively and smiled, not saying any more.

A chime rang and once again warned the student body that the start of class was imminent. Miku took the initiative to say their parting words, promising to meet up after school to talk about all the different subjects that penetrated their minds. The twins headed for their classroom and the teal-haired girl made way for the stairs, ascending to reach her own classroom before the start bell could ring.

The day passed by in a completely different universe for Miku; her gaze permanently fixed on the scenery beyond the window. The images that played through her mind didn't exactly match the view however—she was quite disconnected from reality. Instead she opted to swim in the oncoming tide of questions and reflections that had kept her from sleeping the night before. The feelings she had realized and felt in her own heart was quickly blooming the more her thoughts dwelled on it; as if the more she wanted to contemplate the emotion, the stronger it became. Her heart skipped a beat whenever she found herself going back time and time again to the rather bold kiss she demanded from Luka the week before and she wondered if that was her personal catalyst for her to regard their games as something a bit more than just that. The teal-eyed girl found herself rewinding and replaying the memories of the date they shared; though innocent enough, she could have sworn there was a different emotion floating in the space between them.

Classes came and went, as did the lunch period. Nothing really held the teal princess' attention today and she just went along with wherever her ocean of musings took her. When the final bell rung, she grabbed her bag and headed down to the twin's classrooms, muttering to herself to try and come up with what topics to bring up when they would walk the hill by the school. The pair met up with Miku right past their classroom and they hastily changed their footwear and went along their way out of campus along with the majority of the student body. Miku noted the amount of girls that waited by the entrance, no doubt wondering if the disguised Luka would visit once again. Some cleared out once they saw the teal idol; some gave her glares and a few hopeful ones stayed regardless.

Len let an uneasy expression show, "Geez, you weren't kidding when you said they glared at you… I can almost taste the hostility."

Miku sighed and led them past the gates and onto the street leading to the hill, "Right?"

Rin bounced in her step and matched Miku's position and pace, leaving Len to walk behind them, hands behind his head; listening to the conversation. "So Miku." The bowtied twin started, "Details."

The teal haired girl kept walking as she thought; approaching the corner to turn at the bottom of the hill where they would begin their effortless climb. "What's there to talk about? I already told you what we did… just the usual stuff? We went to a music store, ate at a café… bought some clothes and window shopped. Really, it's nothing different from the stuff we do when we hang out at the shopping district, Rin."

Rin rolled her eyes and Len spoke up, "Yeah, but I think we're more interested in knowing why you're so flustered today."

Miku blinked and looked at the twins who gave a knowing expression in return. "Flustered…?" She turned back to the road ahead of her, eyeing the cement and metal light pole that stood at the turn. A sigh escaped her lips as she realized she had indeed been lost in thought the entire day and that a familiar warmth still occupied her cheeks. "It's… well." Her steps slowed and the twins matched her pace again, putting a bit of distance in the match lapse, "Just… that I've realized a few things, I guess… going out last night." Her words were mumbled embarrassments. Rin willed herself to listen more intently at Miku's sentences. "I was thinking a lot last night… since going out like that made me feel… different, I guess. It was like hanging out with her on any other day, yeah… and at first I couldn't figure out if it was because she was disguised as a boy that made me feel so flustered… because she was a pretty cute boy." All three of them nodded at the recollection of the image. "But then I realized, the fact that I was getting flustered around her to begin with is probably a sign… or something."

Rin and Len stopped in their tracks and let Miku walk next to the light pole, "Or something?" Len started. "So you're saying…?" Rin half finished.

Miku turned at the end of her steps, facing the twins and giving them a serious look that contrasted the intense crimson on her expressions, "I'm saying that I probably started actually liking her before she started dressing up." She exhaled, ignoring the wind and the ambient noise around her; hearing only her own voice resounding, "Before we had to play this game to kill time and get rid of some silly rumours. I think whe—"

A nearly unnoticeable string of metallic clicks came to her senses as she heard someone yell. "PLEASE GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Miku was puzzled at the rather rude and frantic tone of the command, her and the twins looking around before spotting a quickly approaching figure from uphill headed straight for the teal diva. Too quickly. "MOVE!"

The twins stepped back on instinct and Miku's breath and reactions were caught; all movements frozen. She knew that her feet needed to move quickly so she could jump away and avoid this bicycle and the rider that so distraughtly rode it. Her body snapped out of the stupor and her heel made a turn to run, but her delayed response had proven to be too slow. A loud impact of the bike's frame hitting the bag Miku futilely held as a makeshift shield was heard and the twins watched in horror as their friend fell along with the bicyclist. The rider had been thrown off and was mid-air, heading towards the thankfully empty street. Miku, however, had taken the brunt of the force and was transferred the velocity of a 50 kph bicycle onto her petite form; her unfortunate position making her slam against the metal pole she stood next to.

Rin audibly gasped in horror as she watched her best friend collide twice. The bicycle laid ruined on the street and its rider had sat up on the pavement, having enough sense to limp over to the sidewalk though in searing pain. Len's eyes were wide open, taking in the sight before going hysterical and yelling for his teal haired friend that slumped over onto the ground, clearly losing consciousness.

"Miku! Oh my god… Miku!" He looked at the badly injured bicyclist as he made his way to his friend's side, wanting to shake her to wake her back to consciousness.

"Don't touch her!" The bicyclist grimaced in pain, holding his bleeding leg in agony, knowing that it was broken. "Don't. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. You might cause more damage if you move her." He looked over to the stupefied and traumatized Rin. "Call an ambulance. Immediately. She has a head injury, every millisecond counts."

Rin blinked and noted the slow trickling blood that ran down Miku's neck. Len started hyperventilating as his twin immediately dialled the emergency number and tried as calmly as she could to explain what happened and their specific location. Tears ran down her cheeks and she glared angrily at the bleeding man that had started shedding tears of his own, albeit more in physical pain than anything. She knew it was unfair, he probably had his own reason for not being able to stop the bike that he rode—his broken leg was proof enough of that. "What the hell were you thinking?" she asked angrily in an outburst.

The man apologized endlessly, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. My bike, the brakes had failed. I was approaching to fast to manoeuvre out of the way and your friend…" he trailed off, wincing again. It seemed that any movement that even corresponded anywhere near his leg made his nerves go crazy. He motioned to the burned out soles of the sneakers he wore—indicating that he had indeed tried the best he could to stop; imploring the girl to show a bit of mercy.

A crowd was starting to gather around to gawk at the scene and Rin felt her anger grow, wanting them to all stay away and mind their own business. This was not something they should so freely get involved in. She wiped her tears away and quickly made her way to Miku, being careful not to touch her, knowing what the cyclist said was indeed true. She wanted to prevent any further injury and just let her be.

Miku's expression scared her, however. The blood was starting to trickle onto her forehead and she was worried to no end at the possibilities a head injury could spell. She looked at her panicked brother and commanded him. "Call Luka. She's waiting at the station. She needs to know Miku's not arriving. Tell her we're going to the hospital." The blonde girl heard a siren fast approaching their location and felt a sense of relief. She was glad that the response was so quick; she figured there was a hospital or dispatch station nearby for them to arrive so fast. She saw her brother fumble with his handheld before shifting all her attentions back to the unmoving form next to her.

"Hello? Luka! It's Len." The boy choked back his tears as he tried to explain the situation, "It's Miku. She's not coming over to meet you. We've… she… " a hiccup escaped his form, giving away his supressed emotions, "She got into an accident. The ambulance is arriving now, I can hear the siren. We're going to the hospital. Rin too, yeah. Miku… she's… I don't know. There's blood on her head and…" The Kagamine girl looked at him stutter through his sentences and could've sworn she could almost make out a worried voice through the receiver even though it wasn't on her own ear or hearing range. Len continued, "We're going to the hospital… I don't know which one right now. I'm sorry. I'll… I'll tell you once we know." He bit his lip in habitual worry, watching Rin's form starting to sob quietly next to Miku; trying her best not to touch the fallen girl. "I'm sorry Luka. I'll call you as soon as I know more. Okay. I'll contact you in a bit, bye."

Len hung up and almost wanted to throw his phone on the ground in the rush of emotions going through him. He hyperventilated more, effectively calming himself before checking on Miku's form. Her cheeks still looked rather flushed and he felt a strange of sense of calm over the chaos on that note. He had to wonder for a moment if it was because of the blood escaping the tealette's body the caused the colour, but he didn't really want to think of the other possibility at the moment. Seeing that Rin was doting over her, Len figured he'd be courteous and ask the other injured party on their condition, "Hey. Uh… are you okay?"

The bicyclist looked up from the ground and to the inquiring boy, not wanting to move too much himself, "Ah… yeah. Thanks for asking. I'm really sorry. I understand if you are pissed at me. I've got a broken leg, it's what I deserve." Len thought he was being too harsh but bit his words, feeling a small sense of bitterness towards the stranger for doing this to his dear friend.

The strobe and siren of the ambulance pierced everyone's senses as it approached and parked a little haphazardly on the street. Uniformed emergency crew immediately laid out a stretcher and someone carrying a big kit started to tend to Miku's unconscious form, politely asking Rin to stay back and let them do so. The girl reluctantly agreed; wiping her tears away once again and stood by her brother.

Another emergency tech had started tending to the bicyclist as well and Len felt some guilt fly away knowing that the injured man would also be taken care of.

Two pairs of intense blue eyes watched intently as the crew slowly laid Miku onto the stretcher, lifting it carefully onto the rolling bed; letting her twin tails drape over them—a good potion stained in blood. They rolled her into the van and one of the crew members asked the blonde twins if they had any relation to the incapacitated idol. They explained their relationships and rode in the back with the stretcher that supported MIku and some techs that continuously monitored and treated her.

Another panicked soul was close to crushing her phone by the sheer grip of her hand. Waiting at the station for the train going back to her house was an extremely frustrated and worried Megurine Luka; albeit in disguise once more. This was a Tuesday that she hated, she decided. She had overslept and barely found enough time to prepare for her and Miku's second date into the town—something she had been looking forward to, but somehow she still had managed to be careless and lock her keys inside her condo; spill orange juice on her first outfit and thus needed to change—having the line that led to the station her and Miku agreed to meet at be delayed… and now this. Hearing that her target of affections had been in an accident; not knowing the severity of the accident but knowing enough to cause extreme concern; not knowing where she was being taken to… and waiting for the train to come to take her own self back to her neighbourhood so she could get in her own car and rush to wherever Len would hopefully soon inform her Miku would be.

The train finally arrived and Luka sat down, seething. The intense emotions made her want to punch and destroy the nearest inanimate object; still having enough decency to know that punching and innocent someone in this situation would only make matters worse—and in any case, knowing that breaking things wouldn't solve the issue either or help resolve it faster. The passengers aboard the train seemingly felt the dangerous aura growing around the disguised girl and avoided sitting next to her; the disguise intensifying the threatening aura.

When the train arrived at the station near Luka's residence; the girl burst out like lightning. Her phone rang with a familiar Kagamine tune and she answered it hastily as she continued running down the streets for her familiar living structure, "Hello? Len?" She let out short breaths that showed her hurried pace, "Which hospital did they take her to?"

On the other line, the blonde boy seemed to have calmed a little. Luka heard the beeps of various monitors and some chattering in the background and she figured the boy was still riding the ambulance. His voice trembling a little still as he spoke, "The one across town… near the studio, you know?"

Luka gritted her teeth as she made her way down a familiar street, seeing her car from the distant view. She almost wanted to curse hearing the Kagamine boy say where they were headed, but she knew full well that particular facility was the best equipped in the city. It scared her at the same time; leaving her to wonder how severe Miku's injury would be that she would need to be transported there instead of the lesser-equipped but still quite capable hospitals that were much more near the school. She caught her breath as she reached the familiar parking lot and Len stayed quiet, knowing the woman was in full panic. She started searching for her keys in her pockets and simply responded into the phone , "I'll meet you both in the ER lobby." The boy gave a quick affirmation on the other side of the phone and Luka hung up.

The girl didn't even bother to take her disguise off as she dashed for her car, quickly starting it up and shifting into gear, heading towards the highway that would take her to where she hastily _needed_ to be. Luka wasn't careless when it came to driving, but at the moment she was glad that her car was so quick and tiny, letting her weave through openings in traffic to prevent herself from getting stuck behind one car too long. A familiar blue and red invaded her vision and Luka almost wanted to gun it and just speed away but knowing better, indignantly pulled off to the shoulder of the highway.

This was the absolute last thing she needed right now.

Trying her best to keep polite, she explained to the luckily compassionate traffic enforcer the situation at hand. Though she was still given a ticket with a fine, the officer made sure not to waste Luka's time; working as fast as they could to write up the citation, only delaying when Luka gave her a driver's license that looked nothing like her current self—thus needing for another explanation. She had to dab some water from a water bottle inside her car to dissolve some of the glue before taking it off, unceremoniously tossing it on the passenger seat and letting the officer see that she did indeed have pink hair. Luka was half hoping the enforcer would give her an escort to her destination, but she had no such luck. She was thankful the officer even cared enough to give her the ticket so quickly and after saying her apologies and thanks, made her way back on the freeway, making sure to stay exactly on the speed limit, not wanting to cause any more unnecessary delay.

Once she had arrived at the big structure, she parked at the nearest available public parking spot by the emergency port; eyeing some ambulances at the lit driveway. She quickly locked her car and made her way into the lobby, eyeing two petite forms of yellow and greeted them solemnly, "Hey Rin, Len." She gave them a stern look and their teary eyes almost made her own eyes well up. "How is she…?"

The bowtied Kagamine let her tears flow out, not being able to answer and scaring Luka a bit more than she needed to be right now. The ponytailed blonde took up the response, "Miku's in intensive care right now… it looked really bad, there was blood everywhere… and… well, it's head trauma." Luka felt the anxiety inside her almost explode at Len's words. "She was cut slightly, but it was the force that knocked her out… the bicyclist was going near 50 kph it seemed… it's a steep downhill slow there you know, and he had no brakes… couldn't manoeuvre in time."

Luka felt an unfamiliar anger rise to her face; her fists clenched until the knuckles were white, "I hope he's not here or I swear I will…" she trailed off, realizing that she was seething.

Len lowered his gaze, understanding Luka's reactions well, "I know… but it's not his fault, Luka. He tried to maneuver away but well… yeah. He has a pretty bad broken leg too. But don't be mad at him too much, he's the one that told us not to touch Miku so she wouldn't get injured further and he's the one that snapped Rin out of it and made her call an ambulance immediately."

Luka clenched and unclenched her fists, listening to the information the boy had to share. She looked at the teary Rin, nodding to confirm that Len's words were true.

They took a seat in the lobby; a nurse checking on them every now and again and the receptionist asking their business there. Once they had established that they were with Hatsune Miku, they were kept updated with whatever status managed to seep out of the intensive care department, though it was rather basic and nonsensical information about the statistics the monitors read. The hours passed slowly, the anxiety growing within Luka and the twins keeping quiet in contemplation and slight trauma. Nightfall came and they were finally updated with news that Miku had needed some light surgery to help keep pressure off and was going to be admitted to the neurosurgical ward for further operations and monitoring.

The trio felt themselves downed at the news—the nurse added that there were no overnight stays allowed for non-family members and that visiting hours in the hospital were to end soon. The twins reluctantly mentioned to Luka that they had needed to head home for the night, not really knowing what else to do. The pinkette nodded and told them to take care; stating that she wanted to stay and at least figure out a bit more. However, she wasn't given much information and the cutthroat way the staff worked had her a bit on edge. She was told countless times that information regarding a patient was only released to a listed guardian and Luka had to call up a sleeping Takanashi to get the staff to say anything.

The young manager too had now entered hysteric mode. When Luka took back the phone to speak; Takanashi blasted a rapid fire of questions at the pinkette, demanding details after telling her what the staff had said. Luka explained what she knew of the situation and the green-eyed professional found composure to tell her that things would be alright and to find out as much as she can. Apparently Takanashi would take the responsibility to call up the young President and the Hatsune household to talk to Miku's parents and explain to them the incident at hand.

Luka wandered the hallways of the neurological ward, a bit lost; not knowing which room Miku was taken to. She fought off the urge to go up to the help desk a few times, but after being told that visiting hours had ended and she had needed to leave; she eventually gave in and asked the receptionist what she wanted to know. Thankfully, the girl was more helpful that most of the staff she encountered thusfar—an apparent fan of both the idols. She expressed concern, telling her how much she loved 'magnet' as she looked up Miku's hospital record.

"She'll be in room 505 in this department. Neurological ward, room 505. I don't see you on the validated visitors list, Megurine-san, but please, have Takanashi-san or Hatsune-san's parents call this desk tomorrow and have them add you with your full name on the list and you'll be good to go. I apologize and I hope that she recovers well." The receptionist smiled and bowed slightly, apologizing that she could not help her any further than that, citing privacy, code, and security reasons.

Luka thanked her, assuring she did more than enough before leaving the building. She wandered the lot, circling around her car a few times in lost frustration. She pulled out her phone and called Takanashi, asking to be added to Miku's visitor list and the manager assured her it would be done; understanding the pinkette's frustrated emotions.

She circled around the lot and around her car again, not wanting to leave the premises; feeling a need to be as close to the tealette as she could. She got in her car and listened to a few songs, lingering on their duet for a few plays before deciding she should get some sleep. Not having any change of clothes or a brassiere with her, she opted to stay in her current ensemble, feeling a slight discomfort at the pressure the chest bindings kept on her torso. She sighed pulled back her seat and used a hoodie she had on the seat as a blanket; letting a stressful and heavy, dreamless sleep take over.

The rest didn't last long, however. She awoke a few times to sirens and lights underneath the emergency vehicles port and she finally decided to get up once she saw the hint of dawn through her windows and the sounds of cars parking in the empty spaces next to her. She yawned, feeling a bit disgruntled at her current disposition, but decided to get out of the car, now wearing the hoodie she had used as coverings earlier and headed to the restrooms to fix herself up a bit. Observing herself in the mirror, she found that she was glad she took the hoodie with her; finding that she could at least wear that and take a few layers of clothing and the restrictive chest bindings off. In addition, she didn't want to be seen wearing the same clothes on as the day before. After she readied herself in an empty stall, she took the excess clothing and quickly put it back in her car before returning back to the same restroom, now only clad in loose jeans and the comfortable hoodie. She splashed a bit of cold water from the faucet on to her face, washing away the remnants of the liquid glue from the day before and letting her braids down to flow back into the familiar locks; albeit a bit wavier than it usually was from the weaving.

After dabbing her face dry with a paper towel, she headed for the lounge, feeling the need to satiate her hunger even just a little. She had barely eaten; looking forward to meeting up with the tealette and eating at whatever restaurant was near the observatory where they had planned on going to. With their plans so abruptly broken; she found herself no time to even think about eating—it didn't cross her mind once considering she was in a state of utter disarray the entire night. Luka headed for the vending machines, opting to eat some chips and candy and drinking a bottle of tea before heading back to the neurological ward; hoping that Takanashi had added her to the visitors list.

Reaching the desk, she noticed that it was no longer the same amicable receptionist as the night before, but a male nurse that was shuffling about, seemingly looking for something. He looked up at her and asked if she needed help; in which Luka inquired about Miku. He gave her a furrowed look, quickly tapping at the keyboard of the computer to check records; asking for ID to make sure she was on the approved visitors list. Luka felt her chest tighten, a bit frightened that Takanashi might have not called yet to add her, but her fears were quickly extinguished when the nurse gave her back her ID and looked at her in the eye, "Okay, Megurine-san. Hatsune Miku is in room 505; her surgeries just finished a couple hours ago." He stepped out from behind the desk to lead her to a long corridor. Luka followed.

"It's nothing serious physically; we needed to do some surgery to alleviate some cranial pressure, but other than that there have been no other complications." He stopped at the door marked '505' and opened it, letting Luka in first to take in the bandaged form of her co-star laying in white sheets, monitoring equipment and IVs attached. "She's still sedated right now, but she should be waking up soon. We'll be coming in and out to perform maintenance on the monitors and do check-ups, but feel free to take a seat on the couch if you intend to stay in here." The nurse motioned to the couch against the wall, a bit farther away from the bed as Luka would have liked. "If she wakes up, please press the big pager next to the bed and we'll come in." He made a small, curt bow at her and Luka thanked him for all the information before he left, leaving the two girls in the room.

Luka stood for a long while, observing the eerily calm form of Miku before she finally took the steps to get a little closer. Gazing at Miku's features, Luka noted that a part of Miku's hair had been carelessly shaved and in the same area, stitches and another monitor occupied. She frowned, a bit displeased knowing Miku would be upset whenever she would notice it, but was slightly thankful it was only around her bangs that was shaved. At least it wasn't by her ridiculously long locks; or else she would have probably gotten it all chopped off just to even it out. Luka shook her head at the though, taking a seat on the couch and reprimanding herself for having such silly musings at such a critical time.

After a while, Luka decided that hospitals were all just a waiting game. She had waited the night before, she had waited in her car, and now had to wait here. She felt herself get lost in her worries and concerns about Miku, losing track of time and only gaining an interest in it when she felt the pangs of hunger once again. She quickly checked her phone for the time and decided it was a good time as any to give the twins an email. [Still in the hospital. I'm in the same room as Miku right now but she's sedated still, but I was told she's in stable condition. Talk to Takanashi if you are planning to visit later.] She pressed send and watched the animation play before her ears perked at a small grunt. Her eyes darted to the shifting form of Miku; finding her own self paralyzed by both anxiety and excitement.

Teal eyes slowly opened, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling; the bright white lights flooding her senses and blinding her for a moment. The girl noted the beeping and whirrs of machines as well as the dull pain around her head. After blinking lethargically for a moment or so, she rationalized that she was in a hospital and she was the one hooked up to these machines; though she could not exactly recall why. Her eyes wandered and found themselves stopping at the figure of a pink haired woman in a hoodie, anxiously observing her.

"M… Miku..! Oh, goodness." Luka sat up and stood next to the bed, careful not to trip over anything, her excitement making her forget the nurse's instructions to press the pager when the girl woke up. She smiled at the teal-haired girl and fought back more tears that threatened to escape, "How are you? Oh my goodness, you had us all worried." She firmly pressed her lips into a frown, "I was so scared…"

The tealette furrowed her eyebrows; finding an odd sensation around her sinuses before registering it as oxygen. No wonder she felt so lethargic; she reasoned. The woman was talking to her, but in her hazy state of mind only understood a few words. She opened her mouth and her voice cracked at first, so she coughed to clear it before speaking again, keeping her gaze on the pinkette, "I'm sorry… where…"

Luka smiled at her and waved it off. "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault; we were… I was just so worried. We're at the hospital next to Crypton."

The tealette closed her eyes, trying to force the sleepiness and hazy vision away; wanting to clear things up a bit with the woman next to her, "I'm sorry… I mean… I know I got in accident; well, I must have if I am in the hospital with all these wires and tubes on me… and this pain in my head…" she let out a soft grunt before turning her head slowly towards the girl next to her, "but… I don't remember what happened."

Luka quirked her head and realized that Miku might have no recollection of the incident; from what she heard, it happened rather quickly anyways.

The tealette kept her stare on the woman, observing her carefully, taking in every feature and speaking before Luka could say anything again, "I don't… remember…" she shook her head slowly, "I guess you know who I am… but… I don't remember you." She stated, a bit of groggy frustration in her voice.

Luka froze. Her eyes kept their stare on Miku as her she realized what had just been said.

Miku had no recollection of the incident.

And Hatsune Miku had no recollection of Megurine Luka.

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><p><em>Author's Notes (ending): Aaaand… that's… yep. That's that. I went there. That's what all the excitement was about. See? That's why I was hoping you weren't too comfortable. …with the setting that I built up for the past 4 chapters, that is.<em>

_Don't worry though; we're not going to go into a massive plot shift or anything. The foil that I've been immersing you all for the past 4.5 chapters will still be very relevant in the rest of the story._

_Stay tuuuuned. If you are staying. Like I said, I know most of you will either love me or hate me at this point, haha. Enjoy, regardless!_

_-Tsubom33 (neuroseki)_


	6. Can't Let Our Eyes Meet

**The Distance These Hands Can Reach**

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><p>Chapter 6 – Can't Let Our Eyes Meet<p>

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><p><em>Author's Notes: Oh gosh, I'm sorry this took so long to post. Especially after that chapter. I'm behind my own schedule; chapter 7 turned being a giant monster akin to chapter 5 (not going to break any hearts this time around though, I think) and I'm in the middle of chapter 8 right now, when I should already be on chapter 9. My classes are kicking my butt too, so time has been scarce. And then L.A. Noire was released for PC, so I got massively distracted by that. But that's okay, I just figured I'd lose out on some sleep to write this, hehe.<em>

_I didn't get around to replying to reviews this time around; but I'll try to soon. But amongst all of you that I want to reply to, one is an anonymous reviewer and the other has private messaging off. Basically, yes; I know that was pretty much the most clichéd thing; but I went there anyways—wanna fight about it? (Not really, I'm just kidding! Oh gosh, please don't be offended). I'm actually quite glad someone was disgruntled with the use of that plot device. Don't worry, I kind of couldn't believe I used that too. As I've kept mentioning though, I already had the plot of this thing in my head before I even started; I don't like having loose threads in a story, so if you have trust in me; I'll try to keep the clichés to a minimum._

_I don't have any sketches or images for this chapter... I don't think? But check out my dA or my pixiv for random doodles anyways_—_if you want to, that is._

_Enough rambling. Here we go._

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><p><em>Tap. Clink. Taptaptap. Clink. Clink. Tap. Clink.<em>

A sigh.

An intrusive ambiance of whirs and beeps.

Weary eyes scanned the lonely room, taking in the sterile, disconnected atmosphere that enveloped the entire space. A _tap_ here and _clink_ over there would alleviate boredom for a few moments before another sigh would escape the figure; quickly returning to focus on the monotony of everything. The rhythm that would be played with her fingers against the metal bars on the bed she occupied would keep a beat only for a few seconds before it jumbled back into the mess of sound playing through her head.

She knew she was remembering something, she knew it was probably something she had played or practiced before; but she could not, no matter how hard she tried to focus, finish a proper sequence.

Giving up with the improvised percussions for now; Hatsune Miku decided instead to relax back into the shallow softness of the hospital bed; putting her hand to her bandaged forehead, running along the edges of the intertwined cloth. It held a large bandage in place, she noted; not really knowing what it all looked like. A frown crept upon her features as she felt the uneven fall of the hair beyond the bandages; being reminded once again that her locks had been shaved for her surgeries.

It had been four confusing days since she woke up in a terribly hazy state of mind; completely confused with her surroundings. Yes, she knew what had happened to her now, but during those first few moments, it was rather terrifying for the teal-haired girl to try and figure out what she was doing in the hospital with such tubes and sensors on her body. It had gotten even more confusing when the first person she spoke to wasn't a part of the hospital staff, or anyone she could recognize as having any kind of relation to. Instead, she was greeted—quite familiarly too, she recalled, by a gentle featured, pink-haired woman with worry so deeply embedded in her eyes that Miku immediately wanted to apologize for causing the stressing state of mind.

Many other visitors had come and gone; most of which Miku somewhat recognized. Among them were of course, her own parents who had gone out of their way to travel from the north part of the country in a hurried panic to see their hospitalized daughter. Her manager, who had also visited and consequently, she also remembered; had apparently phoned idol's parents to tell what happened to their beloved offspring and _might_ have made it sound much worse than it actually was.

Not that a neurosurgical operation was anything to be made light of or anything, but from what Miku could pick up of the conversation; it seemed like the green-eyed manager had made it seem like she was in a permanent coma .

The other visitors that came about also had the similar initial concern—most of them, as she heard from the duo themselves, were informed by the Kagamine twins of the incident. The two blondes were apparently the ones that were with her when the incident happened and were the ones to explain to Miku how things had transpired; though not without the occasional break of emotions from both young stars. Miku felt humbled. Rin and Len, she still remembered, were very close to her. Memories were fragmented all around and it was taking her a while to try and find the right pieces to try and fit together, but she knew immediately that the two were pretty much her best friends and that they attended the same school.

One of the hospital staff that she talked to, which she assumed was responsible for her rehabilitation, had told her that it was probably because of the fact that she saw the twins nearly every day and interacted with them often, as well as working with them that she remembered who they were and what her relation with them was.

Eyelids closed upon teal irises as Miku pondered the explanation. It made sense, yes, but she couldn't quite go with it. If near-daily interaction was all she needed to remember someone, why couldn't she remember so many other faces that came by to visit? She faintly remembered being in part of some kind of… group… or clique… a band, maybe; she couldn't really remember, but she figured those people that were kind enough to drop by to see how she was doing were part of that. She knew Meiko, she knew Kaito, but the Hatsune girl did not recognize the blonde haired woman that often hung around the older idol pair; nor did she recognize the purple haired man that was associated with the blonde and his green-haired cousin that sometimes tagged along. They had all re-introduced themselves to her by now and explained how they knew her; but Miku still found it annoying and frustrating that she herself could not remember learning of these details.

In particular; or rather—the thing that frustrated her most about her lack of remembrance was that she could not put any memories, events, or recognition of the girl that had re-introduced herself as Megurine Luka.

It was peculiar. Very.

Aside from being the first person to greet her after she had awoken, Miku had figured the pinkette to be someone either very important or very close to herself; if not both. The taller woman had said nothing for her to be particularly suspicious about it, but Miku did learn that during the first night and day she spent at the hospital; there were very few people that been given permission to visit her before she was conscious. Those people were her parents, of course; her manager, the assistant of her manager, the president of Crypton, and this Megurine Luka. To add to it, none of them had even been present during those critical hours in which her health balanced uncertainly; aside from none other than Luka, that is. Overhearing some cheeky gossip from the nurses that attended to her, she learned that the girl, apparently another idol; had gone out of her way to stay for as long as she can before pretty much getting kicked out by the staff—only to return immediately when the visiting hours had begun once again.

It was all immensely flattering.

Though Miku could tell that Luka was uncomfortable in some sense whenever she visited; it didn't change the fact that the other teal-eyed girl still came to see her every day thus far without fail. Miku too, would feel a little uncertain about the mood that befell upon them; unease, guilt and a strange twinge of her heart in an emotion she couldn't quite place a name to making her hands sweat with anxiety. It was awkward. Though as the days passed and the two spent more hours in the sterile room together had made the mood ease up a bit, it was still quite awkward.

A few timorous questions had initially been asked by the bandaged, bed-ridden tealette; not knowing how Luka would respond to them at first, but Miku quickly learned that Luka was not only kind in her features, but in her mannerisms as well; hastily understanding that Luka was the definition of 'proper and ladylike' when it came to conduct. She didn't feel the same stuck up sense whenever she thought of the stereotype either; Miku felt that the girl that so often visited her had a playful side she had yet to see as well—the smiles that Luka gave off and the subtle inflections of teasing in her voice made Miku understand, and somewhere in the typhoon of her cloudy thoughts; she solidified that Megurine Luka was someone she could trust.

Still, apprehension made her heart race every time the pinkette visited. A leap and a skip that wasn't uncaught by the monitor of her heartbeat made her realize that she felt some kind of anxiety whenever the girl was around—something which Luka made a note of and quite noticeably was humbled by. It was as though Luka herself was apprehensive of being around the teal-haired girl; but, as Miku perceived, it seemed as though it was more out of trepidation than anything.

Opening her eyes to stare at the ceiling above; Miku could not help but let out a pout. The restraints put on her as a patient receiving continuous treatment and monitoring were a little overboard, she thought; but she was scolded by her own mother when she complained about the fact that she wasn't supposed to move her head around too much. It wasn't even until this day that she was allowed to even sit up on her bed, though she quickly figured out why the official medical advice was to keep laying down.

Slowly, she used her badly scraped arms and sore shoulder to support the rest of her weight; the injuries giving a lingering, dull pain with the strain put on them—though, it was nothing compared to the pain that shot through her nerves when she strained her neck and tensed up any area of her head. She carelessly shifted her weight on her other arm; causing another painful shot through her arm when the weight laid on her wrists; forgetting that that part of her was also injured. Hissing through the pain, she continued her actions nevertheless and tears started to hint at the edges of her eye. Miku whined, "This suuuuuucks…"

_Clink._ A different direction. A different tone. A small noise that went unnoticed by the pained girl until a voice called out.

"Goodness! Sweetie, what are you doing?"

Miku gritted her teeth through the tension and pain she felt, recognizing the soft voice calling out to her. She had wanted to answer back, but all she could manage at that moment was a rather pained sounding grunt.

Rushed footsteps made their way closer and Miku felt a hand on her back and shoulders, immediately letting of the pressure on her injured upper body as it helped her sit up with ease. "Here…"

Miku sat and let out a long exhale before opening her eyes to meet the gaze of what she had already figured to be Luka. Composing herself, she thanked her. "Meguri—" A slight furrow of the brow and a knowing look made Miku stammer, "I mean… Luka. Thank you."

The older girl sighed and let her arms slide away, letting Miku sit up by herself and arranging the pillows behind the bandaged girl to help better support her current position before she herself took a seat on one of the uncomfortable, but moveable stools that she positioned next to the bed. "You shouldn't be straining yourself like that, Miku; your injuries won't heal properly or as fast as I know you'd like them to if you don't follow what was advised."

Miku pouted and lowered her gaze, though she was thankful for the attention that Luka brought upon her and the very welcomed company in the all too sterile room. "But it's not against what was advised… I was told I could actually sit up starting today, you know." She looked over the room once more from her new perspective, "It's awfully boring staring at such a boring and unfamiliar ceiling all day."

Luka pursed her lips in contemplation, grabbing the big piece of cloth that she had brought with her and putting it on the bed, next to Miku's legs. "I'm pretty sure they didn't want you straining yourself like that though. You have a sprained shoulder and your arms must sting from those nasty scrapes." A stern expression painted over her features as she watched Miku stay silent and pout, staring at the object she had laid on the bed while clutching her left hand in the other.

"I just wanted to sit up…" Miku offered meekly.

Luka sighed again, taking the folded cloth and laying it out on top of the sheets as an extra cover for the younger girl. It was a simple patterned, thin but warm blanket and the tealette was glad to have the extra heat, considering the entire building seemed to be climate controlled and she could have sworn the staff kept it firmly set at 'tundra'. Luka sat back down and spoke before the atmosphere settled into an awkward setting once more, "You said you were cold here, so I figured I'd bring you this. I'm not even sure it's allowed, but well, you can easily store it away if it isn't."

Miku thanked Luka and nodded, staying quiet for a long while; not quite sure what to say to the older girl. It wasn't that she didn't have anything to say; she had a lot of questions, indeed—but every time Luka was near, her mind would start racing in a chaotic composition and she could no longer find the correct words to form a proper sentence.

Luka herself did not particularly spark a conversation; Miku started noticing a sense of melancholy in her eyes whenever she stayed alone with her and she attributed it to her own condition. After spending the most time with the pink haired girl, Miku started picking up hints and little pieces of the past that she could not remember and pieced that she indeed, must have been rather close to Luka. The girl knew how to read her emotions and expressions well; her responses gave off nothing but a familiarity to the girl's personality and she seemed to know exactly what to say whenever Miku started getting frustrated and confused.

Still, Luka kept a silent distance away from her. It confused Miku even more. Was she afraid? Was she hurt? Miku had wanted to talk to her, but found it hard with such a heavy and choking atmosphere. One of them had to break it before they suffocated in an ocean of anxiety.

"You seem uncomfortable."

The sudden dialogue had surprised the tealette, "Ah? Oh… I uh…" Miku's gaze shifted from one object to another, trying to figure out what to say. She eyed the metallic bars of the bed she occupied and shifted her view to a small bag just beyond, on the couch. "I just don't really know what to say. I've got a lot on my mind… I still can't make sense out of a lot of stuff… it's frustrating."

Luka nodded and stood up, smiling at the girl; starting to walk a bit away from the bed. "I understand. I think it's best if you try to get all that sort—"

Miku suddenly felt afraid. It was a familiar state of panic and disconnection she felt whenever Luka left her side. "Uhm!" Luka blinked at the strange and sudden interjection and looked at Miku questioningly. The tealette gave her a pleading look, "Don't… don't go, please… I… I want to talk. If that's okay."

Luka paused for but a moment before slowly taking her steps back and sitting back to where she was just a few moments before. "Of course it is. I'll stay."

A sense of relief washed over her entire mood and Miku wondered to herself why the woman had greatly affected her so. She quickly tried to come up with a reason to talk with the pinkette; only really stopping her out of impulse. "Uhm… could you… get my stuff? On the couch… I have a phone right?"

With a smile and a nod, Luka stood to grab the blue and white sports bag that was brought in by Rin to put all of Miku's belongings in. There were some spare clothes and necessities, as well as the things Miku was carrying the day the incident happened. Not really wanting to rifle through it, she just brought the bag over back to the bed and set it next to the sitting girl; taking her own seat again as she watched Miku search through everything, presumably looking for her handheld. "I don't think your phone's going to have any charge left, sweetie…"

Miku pulled her hand out of the mass of items in the bag, revealing a small device in her clutches. She examined it and tried to turn it on, but was only greeted by a logo screen very briefly before it turned off once more. "I guess… that's expected. It'd been… uhm…" she started counting her fingers, stopping at the fourth digit.

Luka brought her own bag up to her lap and started going through her own things, picking up her own phone to show the girl. "What were you going to do? We have the same model phone, so we can just swap the batteries for now if you'd like. I'll just charge mine when I get back home later."

The tealette looked up from the black screen and to Luka's hands where she saw her dextrously take the battery cover off. "Oh… that'd be really nice, if you don't mind. I just wanted to listen to some songs… ah, but I don't think I have headphones either."

Luka smiled at Miku's statement, giving her phone battery to the girl and pulling out a mess of cords; immediately working on untangling them, revealing a pair of earphones to Miku, "Do you have a particular song in mind?"

Miku took the battery and the headset, setting the later down on her lap as she fumbled with the cover of her own device; not quite remembering how to disassemble it—she was just trying what she saw Luka do not too long ago, really. After she got the cover off, she gave the now dead battery to Luka who put it in her own handheld to charge later and then put in the fully charged battery into her phone; immediately turning it on before even putting the cover back. She was greeted with the logo once more, but was satisfied when it moved on to the next screen which looked like a loading or boot screen of some sort. Miku snapped back the battery cover, taking the headphones Luka had given to plug into her device.

"Thank you. I'm not quite sure; I don't have a song in mind, no, but I've been getting different sequences in my head that I can't get rid of and I figured they were songs I previously worked on or something…?" The device in her hand brightened and she noticed it was on the home screen, greeting her with a wallpaper of what looked like a small cartoon version of herself; only it looked rather distressed and it held a very cartoonish looking stalk of welsh onion.

Luka leaned over the railing slightly, resting her elbows on the bed cushions as she peeked over to look at the screen, "Interesting choice of backdrop. You look rather traumatized there." She grinned at the tealette, "I guess that's an appropriate expression. " She stifled a giggle and apologized quietly for the bad joke.

All Miku could do was blink at the image; ultimately deciding to ignore it before she attempted to figure out how to work the device. A few swipes and pokes later, she looked at the girl next to her, "Uhm… I don't… remember how to use this."

The pinkette smiled and put her own handheld back into her bag before leaning next to Miku, resting some of her weight on the bed to hold the device over Miku's own grip. "Here… first, you unlock it, just this slider thing… then everything's in this screen that comes up if you press this icon."

Miku nodded, hearing Luka's simple tutorial. She was glad there was no longer a heartbeat monitor connected to her, or otherwise she would have to endure coming up with an excuse as to why it was thumping so much faster in that moment. Her shaking hand navigated through the application icons before finally, seemingly automatically, settling on choosing the music player on the small touch screen. A familiar click sounded inside Miku's still slightly aching head when her thumb started scrolling through the endless list of songs that appeared. A familiar twinge; something like a hazy memory. "Luka… how close were we?"

Luka had been watching the girl's actions, still draped over the metal bar, her elbow propping her up next to the Miku's legs. Upon hearing the question, her head quirked slightly, a little surprised at the sudden inquiry; but it wasn't something that was entirely unexpected—in fact, the pinkette had been anticipating the moment Miku would eventually ask her the exact statement that was uttered out. "Hm… Well… let's see. How close do you think we were?"

A momentary pause on the scrolling. A tap. Muffled noises could be heard coming from the earphones, but neither could really make out the faint intro. The teal-haired girl picked up the wires and offered Luka one ear bud as she held the other, "I'm… well, I guess I think we were pretty close… you seem to know how I think… and you're not uncomfortable with me either. I can sense unease from you… but I think you're purposefully keeping your distance…" Miku lowered her gaze a bit embarrassed at the sudden insights she blathered. " …or something…?"

Luka took the ear bud and stared at Miku, a little taken aback at the accuracy of her observations. Had Miku picked up all of this from just her visitations? As far as Luka knew, no-one else really came to visit as often as she did; and she even heard from Miku herself that the tealette's parents were straining to stay as long as they did and had to return back up north soon enough. That left the busy Takanashi and the other idols to visit; and she knew most of them had their own busy lives to attend to; even the twins had barely found the time to come drop by to see how the tealette was healing along. So how did Miku come up with such an accurate statement? A glimmer of hope shone inside her for a brief moment; thinking that maybe Miku had been starting to remember her; but as Luka knew, the nature of her initial question itself was a giveaway that she still had no idea.

A smile graced her lips and Luka responded, "Or something…? No need to be unsure sweetie. That's a fairly accurate description of our relationship, I'd say…" Luka placed the lone ear bud in her ear as she spoke; watching Miku do the same and the gentle tune of a piano and Miku's soothing voice rang through. Luka tried to divert the attention away from the subject, not wanting to admit that she had been right about the last statement as well; with Luka being careful about how close she acted towards Miku. With the tunes in both of their ears, she stated, "Ah, this was my first time actually working with you… It was quite intimidating for me. Do you remember?"

Miku tilted her head and listened carefully to her own voice sing the unfamiliar yet emotionally triggering verses. It was a strange feeling of disassociation that came over her; the melody sounded familiar enough, but though it was undoubtedly her voice that she was hearing, she could not at all remember singing it. Furrowed eyebrows dawned on her features, "I… don't remember… what happened?"

Luka gave her another gentle smile, leaning her head towards the closer side of the girl where the ear piece had been plugged in, "I had just gotten the contract at Crypton a couple months before… We had met before this, but anyways, you were recording this song; I was there to observe the process the producers and yourself went through… the producer wanted a more 'soothing', low harmony, as he said it, and couldn't quite get what he wanted or something… so he asked me to do it since I was there. I just did it for a few lines… ah, see? Right here, this part… '_mirai__'…_ and some others… you liked it too, but you seemed kind of irate at first. I think you wanted to do it all yourself."

Miku nodded at Luka's story, knowing that she would probably have reacted as she said, considering that she was quite the overachiever when it came to her own chosen songs. Staying silent, she listened for a bit more; taking note of Luka's voice in the background and giving full attention to the verse afterwards.

_Sukoshi hiroku kanjiru; konno semai oneroom_

_Kokoro no sukima wo hirogeru you da_

_Sukoshi nagaku kanjiru; honno ippun ichibyou_

_Kimi to sugosetara, to…_

_It feels so spacious; this small oneroom_

_The gap inside my heart widens_

_It feels so long, though; it's just a minute and a second_

_If I could spend this with you…_

Miku felt some pressure well up on her sinuses; a stinging sensation lingering at the back of her eyes. A blink let a wet drop fall on the patterned blanket on her lap. "Oh… ah…"

"Miku?" Luka casted a worried gaze towards the tealette; concerned at the shed drops that darkened the fabric.

The bandaged girl shook her head, looking more confused than sad as she tried to wipe her tears away but found it hard to lift her elbows with her sprained shoulder. She gave off a grimace before she felt Luka's warm hands gently wipe away the wetness on her face. "S-sorry, I don't know what… why... why can't I hold… all these tears…"

Luka shushed her soothingly, the song still playing though now just a faint background melody to the two. The pinkette herself was rather confused at Miku's sudden tears, but figured she would calm her before asking anything. "It's okay, you don't have to apologize."

The teal-haired girl nodded, wiping away the last of the stray tears on her face before gaining composure from her confusion, "Sorry, that was… I don't know. That was weird… the song, the lyrics… it just felt relevant… the words…"

Luka nodded, keeping quiet in a silent understanding—her hand brushing away Miku's bangs to the side, tucking some of the locks to clear Miku's face; fingertips tracing the soft skin on the contours behind the girl's ear as she did so. "Songs evoke emotion… and I guess hearing your own song would only magnify that."

Miku shivered at the fleeting contact of the delicate fingertips, feeling as though the nerves in her body concentrated on where Luka very gently touched in an effort to calm her worries. It was in no way sexual, she noted; but for a brief moment, she threw all other emotion aside to feel a flame of something she couldn't quite describe light up. The tealette let out a sharp inhale when Luka's hand distanced away, still in somewhat of a stupor from the intense swing of emotions.

"Miku…?" Luka asked questioningly, wondering why the girl was so dazed. Had the song affected her that much…? Was she remembering something? To her, any speculation of the teal idol remembering her would play a dangerous skipping beat in her pulse; the anticipation quickly building inside but quickly mentally scolded by her brain telling her not to keep her hopes up.

Miku shook her head, her gaze lowering to her hands holding the small touch screen device; lowering the volume of the song as the outro of the melodic piano rang through.

"Luka…" Teal eyes met teal and a pair of hands started to sweat. "How close were we… really?"

A peculiar look met her gaze, "We just said… what you described is pretty much accurate, sweetie."

Miku nodded,"I know, but…" her gaze shifting to go back to her hands, letting a small moment pass by before her gaze slowly lifted to the pink-haired woman again, "I want to hear from you… how close were we? What did we do together? How did we spend our time?"

Luka shifted from her elbow to sit up a bit more properly, but still using the bed to support most of her weight. The pinkette figured Miku was frustrated with what little she knew about her; yet here she was continuing to spend time with her without fail and with such a deflective attitude. "Ah… well... To start off wi—"

Luka didn't even have time to finish her sentence; Miku's gaze pierced right through every barrier she had decided to put up the moment she found out about the shorter girl's memory loss; not wanting to give or force any kind of misinterpreted relations or ties. She could almost taste the frustration emanating from the younger girl and Luka observed teal orbs gleam with a tell-tale wetness; furrowed brows above accentuating her confusion.

"Luka, please tell me." Miku's pleading tone chipped away at Luka's heart and the pink-haired girl felt it tighten with a sense of anticipation different from before; staying silent as Miku finished her plea. "Why is it that I want to kiss you?"

A gulp. _'__Why __don__'__t __you __give __it __a __try __and __see?__'_, it took Luka all of the restraint she could muster to hold back the obvious provocation. A few thoughts raced through her mind; out of all the things Miku could have asked her about their relationship, this was the last thing she expected. She didn't even think that the girl would even think of any intimacies between them—Luka had always just played it out in her head as if Miku would be more wary of her, not wanting her to be as close as she was because she didn't remember. But now she's asking her why she had wanted to kiss her? Goodness. This girl was just full of surprises. "Kiss? That's a rather specific... desire, Miku." A blush crept to her face, imagining the action. She wanted to deflect the question; not quite knowing how to respond. "What makes you feel that way?"

The teal haired girl pouted, holding Luka's gaze with an intense stare of her own, "That's what I want to know. Why is it that when you're near, I can't seem to catch my breath? Why is it that when we talk, I feel so much calmer despite the awkwardness? Why do I associate such feelings with those lyrics… Why is it that I feel electrified when you… just now, when you touched me…" Miku felt a warmth tickle her face, unsure if she should have shared such emotions. She had been feeling quite weird around the older girl since she woke up, sure, but it wasn't until recently that her thoughts had started to mull over the possibility that they might have been together. "I…I-I'm sorry if I shouldn't have said that… I don't know how you feel after all… but I just want to know. Were we going…"

Luka felt herself go in a stammering panic in her mind; not being able to hold a proper sentence even in her own thoughts. Miku was not asking that question right now. Was she? She was. Goodness. How would she answer? She herself didn't know how to define what they were doing, especially since Luka herself had decided to take the little outings seriously and do proper 'date-like' thing instead of just playing around. But how did things play out with Miku? What was it called when the other had no idea of her intentions but still went along with it under a false pretense? Luka's outward composure showed her ever elegant poker face, not hinting in the slightest at the discombobulated thoughts in her mind; save maybe for the blush that defined her features.

Miku bent over a bit, leaning closer to the girl leaning on the warm blanket on the sterile, white bed. "Were we going out?"

_Knock, __knock. __Click. _A sudden sound of the door opening made the two immediately glance at the direction of the disruption. Miku frowned. What was the point of knocking if you weren't going to wait for a reply? Luka, on the other hand was quite relieved at the intrusion. She felt as if she was going to melt from the overwhelming atmosphere that dawned with Miku's questions.

Immediately upon seen a white coat, Luka stood and greeted the doctor entering the room. "Hello…" she eyed beyond the short man, seeing Miku's parents come into view, bowing to them as well and saying her greetings. The doctor told her to relax and take a seat, to which she complied.

The short, white-clad professional held a clipboard on his side with one hand, letting Miku's parents walk to the bedside opposite of Luka before greeting the young idol with a smile. "How are you feeling, Miku?"

The girl let out a sigh, giving an acknowledging glance to both her parents and the short, black haired doctor, "Confused." She replied, eyeing an observing and quiet Luka.

A chuckle was stifled by the doctor, "I suppose that's expected. How are you feeling physically? I see you're able to sit up now."

Miku grumbled, checking herself over, shifting her weight and trying to move her arms about, making herself grimace when she pushed herself a bit too far. Her parents scolded her slightly, telling her not to overexert herself. "I'm doing fine… just the lingering headache, but that's nothing new. I can't really lift my arms up too far either… it hurts my shoulder." She thought it over a bit more, remembering when she had tried to prop herself up earlier, "My left wrist hurts a lot too. Now it does. I know it was sprained a bit, but I think I made it worse earlier when I was trying to sit up."

Miku's mother gave a disapproving look at her daughter, "I told you not to force yourself, dear. Your wounds won't heal properly if you strain yourself like that."

Miku huffed, "That's what Luka said earlier…"

It was Miku's father that spoke up next, starting with a laugh, "Well, they're both right, sweetie." He eyed the out of place looking blanket on the bed, "Where did that blanket come from?"

Miku looked down at the draped cloth, "Oh… It's pretty cold here, so Luka brought it for me."

The pink haired girl smiled at the tealette's parents when they thanked her.

Another click and a creak of the door was heard and Takanashi sauntered in, looking as busy as ever, but quickly greeted everyone before looking at the doctor.

The black haired man looked and smiled at everyone in the room, "Alright then, well, fortunately everyone's here." He looked down at the clipboard he held and then looked at Miku, "I have some good news. According to the examinations we've been doing, it seems that Miku's been doing quite well physically. The incisions are starting to close up and are starting to scab, which is a good sign. Your shoulder seems to be healing along quite well too; the swelling has gone down and if you managed to sit up by yourself, that's just further proof." Miku wanted to interject that she had some help but kept quiet and let the white-clad man continue. "We really should have bandaged your wrist… we'll see what's going on with that later."

Everyone in the room eyed the man reciting the young girl's condition, awaiting the news they really wanted to hear, "That's all physically… as for your memory…" Expectant faces met his line of sight, "Unfortunately, for this type of incident, it's quite typical. Trauma to the head is a rather serious injury and you were lucky to have gone with such minimal surgery without any complications, Hatsune-san." The girl nodded solemnly at the doctor's words; knowing there wasn't a magical cure to restore the lost memories.

Takanashi stepped forward, standing next to the short professional, "Is there any way to help with that though? I know it's not really well defined, but if there's a way…"

Miku and Luka's gaze shifted from their young manager and then back to the doctor, who had shook his head and spoke to clarify the state Miku was in, "It's a spotty subject. Patients with retrograde amnesia tend to gain memories back as time passes by, when they experience familiar things again. So, things that were important—things like daily tasks, interactions and all that; that will be the first to return. It's not a linear type of recovery, though. There's really no saying which memories will return first. Most likely, they will be pretty scattered. It's hard to say at the moment, we're not even quite sure how far back her memory was lost or if there's a definite time-line to base it upon. It might just be things here and there."

Miku raised her hand, holding the small device that continued to play her songs in a low volume, "I remember mostly everyone… sort of… The ones I don't remember, I feel I recognize… and I get a really familiar sense with listening to my songs and everyone else's too… it's just that I can't remember doing them. Like earlier… uhm… the song with the piano intro…" she looked at Luka, her eyes beckoning for assistance.

Luka raised her eyebrows at first, but quickly understood Miku's silent inquiry. "'From Y to Y'."

Miku nodded and pointed at the pinkette, "Yeah, that one… I don't really remember too much of it, but it's very familiar… The last thing I really remember clearly is winter stuff…? 'Little Traveler'… 'When The First Love Ends'. That's what I feel like just happened."

Miku's parents looked confused for a moment, not too familiar with the song names. They had tried their best to keep up with their daughter's works, but sometimes it was just too much. They glanced at Takanashi, who nodded seriously.

A sigh was let out and arms folded over a fitted blazer, "Are you serious, Miku? That's… over a year ago." A troubled look.

The tealette pouted, "Yeah… I can't help it? Sorry. But it's not like everything after that is blank… I don't remember a good chunk of it… and what bugs me most is that I can't remember a lot of people that I met since then… but there's… lingering feelings and attachments to certain things…" Miku fiddled with her thumb on the wire of the headphones that was still in her ear and in Luka's hand, feeling a little shy all of a sudden. "It's confusing… but comforting. I feel like it'd return soon enough with… more… interaction, I guess?"

The doctor smiled and nodded at Miku's statement. "Exactly that. That's what I wanted to talk about, actually." He cleared his throat and looked at Miku's parents, "We're going to do some more exams with Miku; we're going to just make sure that all is good and change all the bandages and give her a brace for her shoulder and her wrist as well… we're going to do all that today and expect results by tomorrow. If they are all clear as they have been showing, then Miku will be discharged and free to return home." The older Hatsune couple smiled at the news; the subject in question tapped on her phone, seemingly looking over some things as she heard the news of her imminent discharge from the facility. "However, it's very recommended that someone stay with Miku to keep an eye on her condition. Head injuries tend to bring some complications afterwards in some patients and it's better if someone was there to keep an eye on her and help her should she suddenly black out or have a seizure or something similar." A gasp came from the teal-haired girl's mother. "I'm not saying it will happen to her; I'm just stating the possibility, Hatsune-san, please don't worry. Miku has been recovering quite well and it seems complications like that are minimal in possibility, but regardless still possible—which is why I share this concern with all of you. As I recall, Miku lives alone, yes? Maybe it'd be best for her to go home with you for a while, instead of recovering alone here."

"What? No way, that's too far." Miku interjected a bit too hastily. She looked at her parents and gave them a semi-sincere apologetic look, "Sorry Mom, Dad. I'd rather stay here… I can't regain any lost memories being back there… I need interaction with the things here, the people here."

Miku's father gave her a warm gaze, understanding the young girl's concerns, "No need to worry, sweetie; I was about to say the same thing." A smack from the Hatsune mother caused him to furrow his brows. "What? It's true. She needs to recover here and get used to what she's been doing for years again… she can't do that just lazing around the house."

A defeated frown and a sigh similar to Miku's left the woman's form, "I know… I just… I want to take care of my little girl, that's all." A hand rested on her face, worried expression looking at Miku, "What if I stay here, sweetie? I can stay with you and help you out while you recover." A blink. "Oh but wait, what will I do about my clients… maybe I can work from here and send them what they want via express mail?"

The sitting tealette let out an awkward smile, "That's… okay, mom, I know you're busy… plus who's going to take care of dad? Uhm…"

Luka had stayed silent, listening intently to everyone that had spoken; eventually observing Takanashi stepping next to the Hatsune parents to speak, "Please don't worry. We'll take good care of her here; our president is rather overprotective of Miku. I'm surprised she doesn't have guards around her at all times with exactly how overprotective the president is of her; but really… if you must return, then leave with no worries. She's in good hands, I assure you."

The older couple looked at their daughter who had been continuing her silent taps on the phone as the conversation carried on. Miku's father gave Takanashi a smile, "As I would expect. What do you have in mind, Takanashi-san?"

The young manager glanced around the room, lingering on the two idols sitting next to each other. "Well, we could have one of our staff with Miku at all times…" Miku frowned at the manager's suggestion and Takanashi almost let out a chuckle, "But I think Miku would prefer something less intrusive. How about staying with one of your friends? Meiko and Kaito perhaps?"

Luka coughed and Miku tilted her head at the suggestion. The pinkette gave a stern expression before calling out to the manager, "Ahh, Takanashi… I'm not so sure that's… I mean, Lily is staying with them most of the time and I would imagine it's already a full house."

"Lily? Oh… that's right, isn't it…" crossed arms and a tilted head turned to Miku's parents then back to Luka again, "There's the twins... but I'm not so sure we'd be too comfortable keeping her in the hands of such a young pair…"

Miku continued to fiddle with the small handheld device; giving a few lengthy taps before finally looking up to meet her manager's gaze. Didn't they care what she had to say about the matter? She looked at the pink haired idol next to her; about to say something but was cut off by her manager.

"How about you, Luka?" Green eyes focused on the other teal-eyed idol.

The older Hatsunes gave her an expectant gaze to combine with the young manager's questioning stare. Miku had stayed silent for the most part; but she seemed to feel rather nervous about the sudden suggestion. Luka felt an expectant feeling wafting off the younger idol as well however. "Me…?"

The doctor smiled again, remembering that Luka had been one of the authorized visitors, "That doesn't seem like such a bad idea… from what I've heard from the staff, Megurine-san seems like a pretty reliable person. And she's been here every day. And it'd help a lot of Miku was near, we'll be scheduling regular rehabilitation visits; those will be quite frequent at first."

Luka blushed at the statement, feeling that it was a little more than she wanted to let everyone in the room that she had been by Miku's side this whole time, "I… I guess I wouldn't mind. I do want to help… I'll gladly do so, but… Miku? What do you think of it?"

Miku shrugged and gave her a neutral look, blushing slightly and looking down on her phone and Luka wondered what Miku could have been doing on the small handheld to make her so distracted and flustered. Finally, a response from the tealette, "If you're okay with it…"

Miku's mother looked at the pink haired diva and bowed slightly, "Megurine-san, I don't think there's anyone else I trust more in this city to keep an eye on Miku. I know you've been taking care of her here in the hospital and bringing her things… so please, take care of her."

The male Hatsune laughed a bit at his wife's dramatic reaction, "She's being a bit overdramatic, but I agree anyways." He smiled at Luka and his daughter, "I'm sorry we can't stay longer here… work doesn't let us have too many days away, you know… but Megurine-san, if you are going to be the one taking care of Miku, then we'll be at much more ease."

The taller idol immediately stood up, feeling humbled by the bows given to her and the sudden entrusting as well. She bowed back in return, "Ah, please, don't mention it. I'm flattered to be so trusted."

The doctor smiled at the exchange, putting his free hand in his lab coat's pocket before checking over the clipboard again, "Alright then. Looks like that's all sorted out now?" He looked at Miku, "Your exams will be at 7pm again today, Miku. We'll get you bandaged up then too. One more night of stay here and you can leave tomorrow, if there is no problem with that?" He gave a prompting expression to Luka.

"That's no issue." Luka assured.

"Good, good. There'll be some paperwork to do before that all happens, so I suggest you go to the reception desk later, Megurine-san. Miku's parents as well, there will be some things for you to take care of." The doctor stated, starting to make his way to the door once more.

"Of course, yes." The Hatsunes nodded, following the doctor and Luka assumed they were going to the appointed area in that moment. She gave them a nod, but kept her place next to Miku's bed and watched as the door closed, leaving Miku with herself and Takanashi in the room.

A quick turn of the heel and a pair of intense eyes suddenly bored into Miku. "Miku! Please don't make your condition any worse, a speedy recovery would be best for you right now…" Another scolding. Miku was getting tired of it. "You're lucky you're on a sort of vacation for now… but please, do recover quickly."

The tealette's irritability dissipated and another confused look manifested instead, "Vacation? That doesn't sound like me, why am I on vacation?"

The young manager blinked, and then straightened to put a hand on the side of the hip in contemplation. A look in Luka's direction and the pinkette gave a wry smile. Ah, so it was like that. "Luka hasn't told you yet?" A contemplative look. "Well, basically, you're on vacation because of some producer drama… because of the Vocaloid project. I don't know how much you remember. Anyways, there's some issue with plagiarism and all that… plus, the producer you guys were going to work with has gone missing; but we found his passport was missing recently; so we're trying to find out if he left the country for some reason or another. Also… there's some rumours that are getting pretty nasty concerning yourself." Another look at Luka was met with a shake of the head. "I guess Megurine-san will explain that to you later. She's involved with it in more ways than one anyways. I heard new things on the net about a certain boy being a delinquent and forcing people away on the South train line…"

A sly grin from the manager had Luka huffing, "Takanashi, don't make her think like something sinister and world ending is going on." She fussed; her mind reminding her that Miku did say she _felt_ like her world was ending because of the sudden break, but she thought it better not to mention that right now. She knew exactly what the last sentence was pertaining too as well; apparently her choleric nature on the train the day Miku had gotten in accident sparked rumours of the boy the teal-haired idol was seen on a date with was actually a delinquent. "I'll explain it all to you later, Miku. Don't worry."

The confused girl nodded at Luka's reassurance, still clueless about the conversation. She wanted to know everything _right __now_, but figured it was probably better to hear it from Luka when Takanashi wasn't around. If her own manager was entrusting Luka to explain, then they must have been close as she thought; and she wanted to pry a little bit more into _that_ subject. She still very much wanted to know why she felt the way she did around the pinkette and she did not want to be disrupted yet again when they were talking about it. Later would suffice.

Luka stood up, motioning for Takanashi to come along as well. "I better go take care of whatever they need me to look at. I'll see you tomorrow, Miku. Please don't strain yourself. Did you want me to bring anything when I pick you up?"

Miku moved the pillows back to the head of the bed, closing her eyes and carefully laying back down on the bed, "Food, please. I'm dying to eat anything that's better than hospital food." Her eyes opened—glimmering, remembering something she wanted. "Oh! And frozen yogurt. I want some of that." She turned her head as most as she could without it hurting and looked at Luka, "Can we get that before we go to your place? Or mine? I don't know where we're going, but uh, I want frozen yogurt."

Luka let out a small laugh at the girl's simple requests, "We'll go to your house first and figure out things there. But yes, we can go for frozen yogurt before we get there." She waved, taking her leave when Miku waved back.

The halls of the hospital were eerily clear and quiet; only the silent whirs of machines and the flicker and buzzing of the lights could be heard as Luka made her way to the reception area; where Miku's parents were already looking like they finished up, getting ready to leave. The pink haired girl politely greeted them once more and the older couple thanked her once again for taking care of their daughter, staying and chatting a bit with Luka as she filled out the paperwork she needed to; a considerably small amount compared to what the Hatsunes seemed to have filled out; considering she finished within a few minutes. The couple excused themselves, saying that they were going to say a quick farewell to Miku; apparently returning back north soon in a calmer state of mind, knowing that everything was going to be fine concerning their child.

A nurse came over to talk to Luka about Miku's general condition; telling her what medication the girl would be getting and the possible side effects of it, as well as what to do should certain situations arise. Takanashi stayed to listen, saying that it was company interest to keep updated with the health and well-being of their top idol. Luka noted everything carefully in her mind, but kept the advisory papers that were given to her regardless.

The young singer talked a bit with Takanashi to get a better understanding of the situation with the producers, considering she hadn't been going to the studio and instead opted to visit her injured co-star everyday instead. She had been following the rumours on the internet concerning what had been said about the 'delinquent with a dark atmosphere' that had been seen on the South line when the twins had informed her of the accident. The pink haired girl never really expected for rumours to spread so fast, nor for her disguised self to be so easily recognized; everything spread like wildfire within the day—she figured she wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating the power or speed of celebrity gossip now though.

With Miku's accident also now in the open; more rumours of her being involved in a not-so-ideal crowd had started to surface, ranging from things like a bad breakup all the way to the Yakuza being involved in the incident. Most of those rumours were waved off by fans and was doused further by the twins when they themselves wrote a blog post detailing their account of it, stating it was all completely an accident. Gumi also tried to support the efforts by writing in her own blog, but it wasn't as effective as the twin's post; considering she wasn't nearly as close to the teal 'princess' as the Kagamines were. All idols were careful in how they worded everything, as they were advised not to give away any unnecessary information; especially about Miku's memory loss.

Luka kept away from it all, staying quiet for the most part; only commenting supportively on the twin's entry—she knew they would take care of that front and thus, she was more curious about the news with the internal affairs going on in idol-world.

Takanashi told her about the president's findings; apparently managing to get the fact that the producer, Touhi, had taken some clothes and a passport from his apartment. The roommate he stayed with was a little careless and easy to panic, which is what caused the initial alert in the first place; but once Crypton president Kuroi had found out about the missing items, all search parties were called to a halt and now Takanashi's own assistant, Yuu, was now assigned to figure out if there were records of the fleeting producer leaving the country and for what reason; though Takanashi made a fact to state that they were all probably just overreacting and Touhi probably had gone to visit some relatives or something.

The pinkette agreed with this, not really worrying too much now after learning of the details. She asked about the plagiarism issue and Takanashi waved it off, telling her not to worry. Some producers had apparently been getting tired of it and started ignoring it; but it remained a prominent topic. They predicted it would die down soon enough; but on the bright side, it would leave Miku some time to recover before going back to work.

They parted ways, Takanashi stating that the one who had run into Miku was in the same hospital and that he should be paid a visit to let him have his say in everything. Luka clenched her teeth in a very subtle manner, her anger seeming to boil at the mention of the perpetrator. She wished the young manager a good day and headed out to the lot for her car, not really wanting to talk about the incident any further.

What uncalled anger she managed to muster. Goodness.

Luka figured she should give the young bicyclist a chance to give his say as well, but at the moment, she knew she could not do much more than be angered at the thought of the young man. She sighed, getting in her car and quickly putting it into gear to head for the familiar motorway back to her own home. It was well into nightfall when she parked her car into its familiar space and Luka decided that a quick meal of some leftover pasta and bath to let her organize her thoughts was all she wanted to do before she turned in for the night once more.

A yawn escaped her as she made sense of all the materials she got during the day. She neatly stacked all the medication and advisory papers she received from the nurse and set them on a small desk next to her bed. Her hands felt a cold, flat device in the mess in her purse and she took it out, finally remembering that she had swapped the battery out with Miku's and decided to plug it in to let it charge, setting it on a small table next to the desk.

Turning the lights off and heading to bed, Luka's thoughts lingered on the teal-haired idol once more; as they usually did at this hour. How things had managed to end up the way they did baffled her, but she figured it was in her favour, all considering. An apprehensive part of herself told her to be careful with what would happen with Miku being near her at all times for the next who knows until when. She bit her lip in thought, staring at the darkness towards her ceiling, her teal eyes reflecting what little light there was seeping into the cold room.

Miku had turned out to be a lot more forward than she used to be and she knew it was from frustration and lingering emotion; but should she follow up on those and tell Miku how she really felt? How _did_ she feel anyways? Her heart had indeed been making a bigger space for the tealette to inhabit and Luka was kind of scared at the rate in which her affections grew for the young idol; but should she follow through? It was obvious now that Miku had held some sort of _those_ feelings for her as well; but really, was it a good idea to get into that now? Miku had told her that she wanted to focus on music, but they couldn't do that; Miku herself had to recover first and relearn all the things she forgot before she was in any form to record anything new. Did she need support in that? Would Luka be a suitable pillar for her to lean on as she recovered?

Luka clutched her sheets, curling up slightly as her thoughts kept drowsiness at bay. A sigh.

A sudden bright tone nearly made her jump out of her bed—her surprised self quickly realizing that it was her phone that had just gone off in alert of a message received. Luka let out a quick exhale, regaining her calm composure still lying on the bed as she pondered if she should get up again to pick up the phone and see who the mail was from and what it read. It was a tough decision… her phone had been off all day, and it was seldom she received a mail; when someone wanted to contact her, they usually opted to just phone the girl and speak directly to her. And anyways, her bed was awfully comfy and warm right now.

She turned her head to look at the lit up device that was plugged in just far enough out of her reach. It seemed like forever that she stared at it, wishing she could just read it from where she was. A sigh left her lips as she sat up, staying still for a moment before she shifted her legs out of the sheets and into the cold exposure of the ambient air of her room. She shivered slightly, making the short distance from her bed to her table, picking up the small device as she rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her vision. Unlocking it, she saw that it was a mail from none other than Miku.

Her jaw clenched slightly as she navigated to the unread message; her heart feeling like it had been squeezed and her body generating enough heat that she forgot about the cold entirely. Her hands started to sweat and her blinks were unstoppable; reading and rereading the message time-stamped 5:37pm—only a little bit before she left the hospital. Miku had indeed been quite focused on her phone, she noted in the back of her mind; not really caring too much; rather she focused on the contents of it.

It was vague, but concise enough to leave the pink haired girl in a warm stupor.

[I want to stay with you.]


	7. 23 point 4 degrees

**The Distance These Hands Can Reach**

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><p>Chapter 7 – 23.4°<p>

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><p><em>Author's Note: I'm sooooo so sorry this took so long to release. I've been so completely distracted with the end of my classes, and then the holidays, and then a billion hours at my job… and to add to it, formspring took up so much of my time and I've just been so distracted with all that and chatting with people and… aah! I won't make excuses; I know this is well overdue.<em>

_I'll stop rambling and let you all read!_

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><p>A billboard.<p>

A flyer.

Pasted posters on the wall of the convenience store across the way.

A large display on the multi-story shopping center just beyond.

An insert on the table display.

A promo image on the napkin.

"Did I take over the world or something?" A black hoodie was pulled tighter with the collar cords as a young, bandaged girl hunched over her chair, lowering her gaze to a fruit decorated bowl of frozen yogurt. "It's so weird seeing… _me, my face_ no matter what angle I look." She poked at a kiwi in the dessert with her un-slinged hand, scooping it up in the soft dessert before putting it to her mouth.

A smile from across the table; another hand poking at a fried treat covered in sauce and lavishly garnished with green onion, all inside a cute little lunch box. "Something like that." The pink haired girl took the ball of takoyaki and ate it, chewing thoroughly before speaking again. "Over the past year, Crypton and the Vocaloid project in general has grown to reach a worldwide audience. With more producers coming into the picture because of the ease the project carries with it, there's been more interest in the companies and in turn, the idols associated with it all. Crypton was at the head of it; and you, Miku, are on center stage."

The teal haired girl sitting across from Luka gave a wary smile; eyes flickering left and right to take in all of the promotional images and advertisements around her once more. "Hm… 'Miku's… 3…9s? Oh… _san-kyuus_, hehe, that's clever. 'Miku's _san-kyuus_ giving day. Project DIVA presents'… uhm… 'Hatsune Miku, solo concert. March 9.'" She looked back at Luka with a questioning expression after reading the poster on the dessert shop.

A nod. "That was just a couple weeks ago. It wasn't entirely a solo concert since Rin and Len performed too. I did as well." A small cough as she once again remembered the duet they performed. Luka tried to play it off gracefully. "Everyone's been kind of on a vacation since then… with the issues that Takanashi mentioned, it's hard to get any work done, really. So don't worry, you haven't been missing any big events or anything while you were in the hospital."

Miku blinked and tilted her head, a bit confused on the feelings of faint remembrance when she looked at the concert promos. When she thought of it, she could feel the crowd, the excitement, the blinding lights as she stood on stage; but nothing of the actual performance. The emotion without the recollection—akin to something like déjà vu; only she knew for a fact that it actually happened. "Was it recorded…? I want to see…" she murmured, opting to take a takoyaki ball from the small container this time around—making sure to get the one with the most green onion on top of it.

"It was." Luka affirmed, watching the girl go for the fried seafood; making note of her careful selection of the most garnished one. A smile came to her face—she thought that maybe she was putting too much green onion on the dish to be called just a garnish, but now she just figured there probably wasn't a 'too much green onion' when it came to Miku's tastes. "Takanashi just called me before I picked you up, actually. A rough edit… a compilation, I suppose, of the concert footage was completed and there's several copies in the office. It was suggested that I take one with me to give to you… to help you remember." Luka sipped on her iced green tea; the straw making a loud noise when the drink ran out. She looked at it and put it back down, waiting for Miku's response.

"That sounds perfect." The teal haired girl nodded through the hood of her sweater, taking another bite of Luka's homemade takoyaki, talking between bites . "This is really good, Luka. There's a lot of green onion… but I'm not complaining. I guess you know that it's my favourite food."

"Swallow before you speak, sweetie." Luka reprimanded, though still smiling. Miku chewed and swallowed, pouting at Luka's comments. "I'm glad you like it. I do know it's your favourite, yes. But I don't understand how you can eat it with frozen yogurt so easily like that. Don't the tastes clash?" she inquired, referring to the pungentness of the onion clashing with the sweet fruits and soft serve.

"It's good like that, actually." Miku took another bite of her dessert, as if to prove her point even further. "It clashes, but in a good way. I eat the takoyaki first, the octopus taste and the onion lingers and when I eat the frozen yogurt afterwards, it's like it washes it all away and leaves a sweet taste. Until I eat another takoyaki, that is. It's like the cleansing effect of pickled ginger, you know? The yogurt cleanses my tastes."

Luka furrowed her eyebrows, taking one of the remaining two takoyaki in the container as she thought over Miku's explanation. It made sense in a weird way, and she figured that the saltiness of the fried dish would complement the sweetness of the ice cream, after all. She chewed slowly, wondering if Miku would be willing to share her frozen yogurt so she could see for herself.

"You know, for some reason, I get a vague sense of… cannibalism coming off of you when you eat this." Miku stated, quickly getting the last takoyaki, looking it over before gazing at Luka; who, in turn, was giving her a rather confused look. Miku shrugged, "I don't know." The teal-eyed idol took the food into her mouth, chewing—about to speak between bites once more, but remembered what Luka had just scolded her about and swallowed before finishing her thought, "I think it's… your hair? You know, pink. And long-ish… they could be like octopus tentacles. So when you eat takoyaki, it's like you're eating a part of you."

Luka stared at her injured co-star, a vague sense of familiarity in the topic throwing her off-composure. She furrowed her brows in a confused expression, but internally glad that Miku's personality remained the same. She was still the weird 16 year old that sometimes blathered about nonsense or weird things; a rather endearing trait. "You told me something like that before… apparently you had a dream where I was just a head and my hair were tentacles. I guess you remember that part of me, of all things..." A half joking exasperated sigh escaped her lips as she closed the small lunch box, wrapping it in a cloth before putting it back in her bag.

Miku tilted her head and closed her eyes, imagining what a… a sort of… _Tako Luka_ would look like. She nodded after a while, taking the last few bites of her frozen treat. "Mmhmm. I can definitely see it." Luka blinked at the girl's affirmations, still not getting over the gruesomeness of the image she kept in her mind of her octopus-self. Miku smiled, finishing up her soft serve. "It's cute! An octopus you, that is. Definitely. And it's so obvious too."

Luka stood up, grabbing the empty paper bowl and the plastic utensil and disposing of them quickly and returning to the table, still standing. "I don't know about… 'obvious'. 'Unique', yes. 'Obvious', I'm not too sure." Luka shifted her weight, adjusting the bag she held on her shoulder. "Should we get going?"

Miku nodded, standing up from the small chair to follow Luka back to the car lot, "Where we headed?"

The pink haired girl glanced her way, replying immediately, "Your apartment, where else? "

The tealette nodded, flicking her single side ponytail behind her shoulder. It was rather hard to put it in its usual twin tails considering the bandages on her head. "I still live in the same place, right?"

"You haven't moved places since I met you, so I'm pretty sure it's the same as you remember, yes. Big apartment on the second floor, thick carpet that muffles all footsteps, nice comfy couch, big TV with a PS3, kitchen just behind the couch, wooden-floor room to the left down the hall, bathroom right across from it, bed just beyond there." The taller idol nodded, fishing through her bag to find her keys and unlocking the car as she described Miku's apartment as she remembered it. "Right?"

Miku blinked, opening the passenger door and holding her slinged arm with her free hand as she sat into the passenger seat, buckling in and closing the door; a bit surprised at the accuracy of the pinkette's description of her home. Her previous thoughts about their relationship were still hanging in the air and she still wanted to know them, albeit her emotions had had time to calm down since her small outburst the day before. "I'm going to guess that you come over a lot."

Luka let out a small laugh, taking the driver's seat once more and buckling in herself. "Something like that… it was more like intruding, really." Miku gave her one of her trademark questioning looks as she turned her car on, leaving the bag in the space in the middle.

_Ya-ho~_ —a sudden tone. A heavy guitar and a bright synth. The pinkette turned back to the bag she had just put down and picked up her ringing phone; apparently still set to ring with Miku's 'Dear Cocoa Girls'. The tealette was about to comment on it, but figured she'd wait after the call.

The older girl looked at the screen for a moment after unlocking it; a bit surprised to see that the caller ID was displaying none other than the Crypton President's star-decorated contact information. "Hello? Kuroi-san."

A cheery voice on the other end. Completely unprofessional and just playful altogether; as if they were classmates making plans for karaoke. "Luka-chaaan~" A blink from the pinkette. "Are you going to pick up the concert footage soon?"

"Ah, yes, I was thinking of doing so sometime soon… why?" Luka's fingers fidgeted on the steering wheel and she glanced at Miku a bit as she talked with the young president.

A smile was almost audible from the other line. "Great! Takanashi has all the copies, I think. Hey, you're taking care of Miku, right? Are you gonna take her with you when you come here?"

Another blink. Luka figured Miku would want to come along to the office since she hadn't been there in so long; at least in her mind anyways. Plus, the girl probably didn't want to be left alone again and Luka certainly wasn't comfortable leaving the tealette by herself. She looked at the shorter girl, who gave her an innocent, questioning look in return. "Most likely, yes. Why do you ask, Kuroi-san?" The pinkette figured the young president wanted to see Miku in person and confirm that she was alright personally, but Luka wanted to confirm it anyways.

"I just wanted to see Miku myself and get a good idea of what her condition is." The bright tone of the president affirming Luka's thoughts. "Also, I've got some things to discuss with her concerning work and all that stuff."

Luka furrowed her eyebrows at the statement, a bit iffed, "Work? I'm not so sure… isn't it too soon? I mean, there's re-learning and memorizing…"

The cheery tone continued, unfaltering. "Don't worry, It's nothing demanding like what you're thinking. The producers are calming down and things are starting to settle a bit, yes; but we'd still like for it to pass a bit longer. Plus there's still rumours to clear out; which, now that we're on the subject, I guess I might as well tell you, have been getting worse since the incident."

Luka rolled her eyes, remembering the nasty rumours about Miku and herself… or rather, her disguised self, once more. "I know, I know… I won't be doing that anymore, I guess."

"Uhm-uh. It's not that. There's other things springing up because of the incident… not just involving you two, but the company itself." The pink haired girl leaned back in her seat, hand still on the steering wheel as she curiously listened to the president continue. "Some of those posts are getting really speculative and ridiculous. They're saying that since we were panicking over proving Miku's existence, we tried to 'wipe out her existence' and fronted the accident like that. Making it out like we're trying to kill off our own idols." A serious tone befell the president and Luka understood the latent anger simmering beneath the otherwise cheery president's disposition.

"I didn't know about that… that's… ridiculous." Luka frowned, making the teal haired girl in the passenger seat shift weight, a bit concerned about the conversation going on. Something was clearly upsetting the two in contact.

Miku figured they were talking about her from what Luka was saying and the bits and pieces she overheard from the droning of Luka's phone. The conversation seemed normal enough until Luka's face suddenly fell just now. What could they have been talking about? She wondered if it was anything immediately concerning; but she found herself trusting Luka enough to tell her if that was the case.

Luka hunched over slightly, shifting in her seat and absentmindedly pushing her feet down on the clutch. "Well, anyways; I suppose I'll be there sometime soon. I'll give Takanashi a call when I'm heading over." A few nods. "Thank you, Kuroi-san. See you soon."

A quick shift into neutral and a swift movement to put the phone back into her bag. Luka looked at the puzzled Miku sitting patiently. "That was Kuroi-san." Miku nodded, signifying that she remembered who the president was. "I was just informed about the concert footage again and some other things… the rumours, remember? I'll have to explain that later when we're seated… but anyways, we should probably head there sometime. Are you up for coming along with me when I pick up the footage?"

The tealette nodded silently, clutching her slinged arm again with her bandaged hand, "That's fine, I'd like to come along, yeah. I'll pick up some arrangements while I'm there and relearn it this week while I'm still out of school."

The pink haired girl smiled, a little unsettled by the news that Kuroi had mentioned, but found Miku's familiar personality to be endearing once more. "Even with injuries and while recovering from surgery, you're still a workaholic…" She shifted into gear and carefully made her way out of the lot and once again on the path back to the highway, heading for Miku's apartment. "I'll help out with that. I know most of the songs you've done the past year… I guess it comes along with imposing on you so often."

A finger poignantly reached Miku's right cheek; her eyes distant in thought as the scenery of the city zoomed by through her window. "About that… uhm… hm. Is that why you have 'Dear Cocoa Girls' as your ring tone? Hum… So we were close, right? I mean, we had to be, if you're so familiar with my space… you came over often. What for?"

Luka bit her lip, thinking for a moment on how to answer Miku's question while dodging the inevitable relationship question that she could tell lay awaiting in the tealette's mind . "Just to hang out, really. I told you, I was pretty much imposing. I'd play video games, eat your cooking, mess around in your studio area… play more video games. Watch movies. Nothing exciting, really. Just normal things I could have done in my own condo." A blink washed away her nervous thoughts for a moment as she looked at her bag; the pink case of the phone visible in her line of sight, "The ringtone was just to tease you a bit… you'll see why with the concert footage."

The tealette blinked and gave Luka a half smile. The answer for the ring tone was expected, now that she was getting to know Luka's personality once more. "Then why didn't you…? …do it in your own space, that is. Why my place?"

The pink haired driver smiled slightly, keeping her gaze on the road; taking note of the large amount of the pink petals from the blooming cherry trees littering the road and how it flurried about when she drove past. "I just enjoyed your company, really." She smiled, giving a sideward glance at the hoodie-clad girl, "You didn't seem to mind then. I helped you with your homework. You had some trouble with English, so I tutored you mainly in that. I brought food with me sometimes too, so you seemed to be a bit more keen on the idea when I did that." A turn signal, a lane shift. "But if it makes you uncomfortable now, I won't intrude upon you as much. When I'm not being your medically appointed guardian, that is."

Miku shifted on her seat, glancing at the window and away from Luka's fleeting gazes. Her eyes focused on the whirlwind of cherry petals that were disturbed with the car's momentum; creating a constantly moving, chaotic pink universe on the backdrop of the dark asphalt. "It's okay, I don't mind the company…" She fiddled slightly with the brace on her wrist, adjusting the sling that it rested on. "I'd rather not be alone, really. I've never liked it…" Her voice turned into a lowered, barely audible tone. Luka strained to hear it, a bit thankful that the radio wasn't on at that moment. Miku's gaze remained outside, the pink snowstorm clouding her vision. "And I don't think I'd really be comfortable with someone else… I enjoy your company. It's weird. I'm scared of something, but I feel really familiar with you. I wonder why?" The tealette's thoughts whirled in her brain, mimicking the scenery in her eye's focus. "I'm glad it's you that I have this close to me. I just apologize for any burdens or frustrations…"

Luka gulped silently, making for the offramp and taking the familiar turns to Miku's residence. The words she had just heard were dangerous. Vague, borderline ranting, but still accurate enough and surprisingly straight-forward enough to make her composure shake slightly. Tremors in an otherwise steady territory. And it had been happening more often lately too. Goodness. Were these the thoughts Miku had? What about before the accident; did she contemplate Luka and their 'relationship' then the way she did now? She shook her head slightly, stopping at the intersection. Miku had said nothing further and Luka felt the need to break the sudden tension that she felt, "I'm glad to be of any help, Miku. It's not any trouble for me at all. I'm concerned about you and I think it'd cause me more frustration and worry if I wasn't the one here personally taking care of you and making sure your condition and recovery are going along smoothly."

Miku gave a small smile and an 'Uhm' in affirmation, feeling less stressed about her situation. She sat up and looked through the windshield, eyeing a familiar looking building down the road. "Thanks."

Luka gave a positive smile back, picking up speed on the empty road as she made her way to the building she had visited so many times before down the path.

A swift turn and a quick parking job made Miku's interests perk up once more, "You're really good at that. I'm just going to take your word and believe you were here every day or something." She sat up, unbuckling herself with her free hand, admiring the accuracy of Luka's positioning of the car within the boundary lines of the parking space. "That was pure muscle memory there. I guess this is your usual spot here."

Luka smiled, letting out a small laugh before turning the car off and taking her keys out; exiting her small Miata to open its trunk where she grabbed Miku's school sports bag that the tealette had kept in the hospital. "It's yours, actually. But since you don't own a car to park there, it's mine." She smirked, holding her own bag on her shoulder and holding Miku's with the other. Miku reached up to close the trunk, realizing Luka had her hands full. "For now anyways."

The two idols bantered, going up the stairs to reach Miku's door; Luka hitting the alarm button on her keys once more until she heard the familiar horn of her vehicle. The tealette had unlocked the door to her apartment, keeping the door open for Luka to enter.

Luka set the bags down on Miku's kitchen counter and immediately sat down on the ever comfortable couch she had fallen asleep many times on. Miku followed her lead, plopping herself down on the opposite side of the couch, leaning back into the comfort of the soft material below her. She hadn't done much; just getting ready to get out of the hospital and then eating out with Luka; but for some reason, the exhaustion of the past few days had somehow caught up to her. The familiarity of her current environment enveloped her in a familiar mood she had sorely missed. The mental weariness of not remembering things she should have were more tiring than one would think; Miku noted. The ceiling above her was finally one she recognized, the smell was finally of something she was accustomed to; the ambiance of the environment was one she had been comfortable with.

This was her space. Her familiar home. It was safe here. She remembered it here.

A smile graced her features as Miku's consciousness wavered. The soft couch beneath her felt like the inviting ocean—she felt weightless. Finally being able to relax for the first time since her waking and despite not being on a bed; Miku drifted off into the most relaxing sleep she ever had.

The drone of the ambient sounds of the apartment continued; a few outside noises filtering through. The sounds of the wind, the birds—the shuffle of the trees and the petals that flew by. All of the city's cherry trees were in full bloom, and as the two idols had already seen for themselves, the dainty pink petals were everywhere the eye could see. Roads, canals, benches; anywhere one would look were overtaken by the rosy foliage. In some areas, the ground would barely be visible; students walking their familiar path would have a crushed trail to follow, only to be covered up by new petals by the time they walked back there again. At a certain high school; all of the grounds were exactly as such—pink as far as the eye could see. A hue always reminiscent of spring; a time of which the students associate with blooming love.

For a certain yellow pair, however; it meant and endless stream of sneezing—a day filled with itchy, watery eyes as the pollen invaded their sinuses. For whatever reason; the spring air made every teacher and student want to open the windows to let the evil, pollen-infected air in.

"Ah… achoo!" A ponytailed boy sniffled, his head a bit cloudy. "Ugh… it's so pretty out, yet I suffer so much. Why can't I just have nice things?"

Alongside him, his twin also sniffled, talking in a rather nasally voice. "Shut up, Len. I have to suffer too." A handkerchief to wipe away watery eyes. "This sucks. I can't even sing properly with this voice… stupid allergy meds aren't working either." A sigh.

A stop in front of a door; the music room. "Whatever, let's just watch today then. Iroha's here." Len remarked, opening the entrance and letting himself in. Rin followed.

"Is she? I wanted to talk to her." The ribboned girl followed through the opened door, taking an empty seat in the circle of chairs. From the corner of her eye she saw a long, peach coloured ponytail; very reminiscent of the petals and the world outside that caused her to be in such a suffering condition. The girl was shuffling through some sheet music it looked like. Rin took note of Iroha's composure, admiring the air of maturity and general properness that surrounded her.

"…Achooie!" A ponytail lashed in the air, following the inertia of the sudden head jerk.

'Ah… so she has allergies too.' Rin thought to herself, sitting and waiting for the club to settle into its activities.

The peach haired girl sniffled, looking back and catching Rin's eye. She blinked, heading over next to the ribboned girl; Len keeping quiet and observing. "Kagamine-san." She looked over at Len. "…Kagamine-san."

The twins gave her a deadpan look and Len spoke up, "Just 'Len' is fine, Nekomura-san…"

Rin nodded her head in agreement, "'Rin' works for me too. Otherwise we won't know who you're talking to, Iroha."

The peach haired girl blinked, "I.. Iro…"

Rin gave her a stern nod. "I'm going to start calling you familiarly, so you have to start calling us in the same way. We all hang out often enough anyways. Len, you do the same." A commanding tone to her twin.

Iroha let out an understanding 'hm', taking a seat next to the Kagamine girl and observing the rest of the club alongside the yellow pair. She noted a slight melancholy in Rin's atmosphere. She attributed it to not being able to sing, but Iroha was a little more perceptive than that. She could tell from the past few days that Rin had been troubled by something. Sure, she was aware of Miku's accident; but the girl was recovering, surely enough. Was it something else? Her gaze kept on at the club members as she spoke, Len observing the two's interactions. "What's the matter, Rin?"

The golden bowtied girl looked at the poised Iroha, "What? What do you mean? I'm fine? Just these allergies are annoying."

Iroha shook her head, her warm irises focused on the girl next to her, "I meant in general. You seem to have something on your mind as of lately. You look so… melancholic."

A small stifled grin from the apple spice-scented girl was not missed by Rin; who realized that she had been referring to her own famous song. "It's nothing… I'll tell you about it, if you really want to know."

Len smiled, knowing that was exactly what his sister would say. He knew she actually wanted to converse with the peach-haired cat-like girl; but she was just so dishonest with herself. The song Iroha referred to was more relevant than Rin would have liked to admit and he noted that Iroha knew that for herself. The warm eyes of the cat-like girl flickered, understanding.

A few songs and some chatting in the room passed by and the sky had started to take on a golden, rosy hue; the sun getting ready to depart. The twins didn't do much aside from listen to everyone and share opinions that most people asked them for—it wasn't usual; normally the Kagamines would compose or play and sing, and though it was more for personal entertainment; most of the club took it as an impromptu concert and sat around quietly, focusing on the two stars.

Alas, with the turn of the season and the flight of the allergens; the twin idols looked rather unapproachable with their watery eyes and seemingly irritated demeanour. They sat quietly, observing, making notes and chattering about the lack of work and about Miku's recovery. The ponytailed Iroha didn't have much to say on the topics in discussion, but occasionally gave opinion when asked. Rin mentally noted that maybe Iroha just liked to play out scenes in her head when she listened; at least she seemed to show some kind of reaction when she closed her eyes or looked distant while she was in the middle of her conversations with Len.

"I guess we should head out now. Miku should be home starting today, I think." Rin pursed her lips together, biting the bottom lip slightly. "I have to go get some sheet music real quick. I wanna give some songs to her… I'll be right back. You guys can go ahead at the entrance if you want. I have to look through all the compositions here first for her songs."

Iroha tilted her head, eyes stern but confused. Len just nodded, sitting up and grabbing his bag and making his way towards the sliding door. Iroha figured to follow the Kagamine boy down the stairs and towards the shoe racks.

"Kagamine-san." She started, putting her street shoes on as she spoke.

"Len." The younger Kagamine stated simply; listening on what Iroha would have to say. Though quiet, he could tell a lot was going on in the girl's mind—the stares she held on his twin did not go by unnoticed by him. The slight flickers and subtle expressions of contemplation she made when observing his ribboned sibling were all noticed by his keen eye. As airheaded and naïve as he may seem; Kagamine Len was actually quite perceptive.

A tap on the toes of the shoe and Iroha was back into a dignified stance. She stared at the boy just now getting his shoes on. "What sounds better?" A cross of the arms and another tilt of the head. "'I like you'. Or what about 'I'm interested in you'?"

The ponytailed boy looked up at his fellow club member; caught surprised and slightly confused in the middle of putting his left shoe on. And, more importantly, very intrigued about why the peach-haired girl was asking this question. "Why does it matter…?" He finished putting his footwear on, tapping the toes on the ground as Iroha did earlier.

Iroha put her index finger to her chin, musing over her question. She stood face to face with Len, staring him straight in the eye. "It has the same meaning, yet they sound completely different."

Len blinked, a bit exasperated and more confused as the moment passed by. It was the same thing, right? One just sounded more formal. The ponytailed girl's stare did not waver and left him at an unease; her quick approach and grab of his head even more so.

Using her commanding and booming voice, Iroha threw her examples at the bewildered boy as she threw his head to the side. "I like you!" She swung his head to the other direction and gave the other, "I'm interested in you!" Letting go of the dizzied boy's head, she let her hands fall to her hips and backed away, staring at him again. "See? They're completely different. 'I like you'… 'I'm interested in you'… 'I like you'… 'I'm interested in you'…" she mumbled, her hand cradling her chin in thought once more.

Len grabbed his head with both hands, stumbling a bit backwards, trying to gain his balance. Iroha was proving to be quite the character. "Uh… I'm not really sure. I guess it depends on the context? If you've been friends for a while or if you're shy… or something. One carries more weight and the other seems kind of roundabout. If you use both like you just did… well, less forcefully, I guess, it sounds like a clarification of your feelings."

Furrowed brows and another flicker of golden eyes. "I see. I suppose I should be friends first…"

Len sighed, staring at the staircase down the hallway and spotting a white ribbon. "Why do you ask, anyways? Who are you trying to simulate the phrase for?"

The peach-haired girl blinked; still with a stern expression on her face and the same piercing stare held with Len's blue orbs. "Hm? Ah. Just… someone I don't quite know yet."

The younger Kagamine gaped, half-smiling, half-leering. How obvious could this girl get? Her lady-like aura was breaking with every word she spoke—though said words and speech were still quite proper. The things she said with such a demeanour were rather contradicting and he had to wonder if Iroha was either joking or just really roundabout with her advances. "Are you serious?" He crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows. Surely Iroha meant that she liked Rin, right? And since his sister had also seemingly grown a sort of attachment to the cat-like girl… aha. This would be the chance to play Cupid. Sure, Iroha didn't give a sure or direct indication that her attractions and concerns were for Rin, but the way she spoke, Len just _knew_ he was right. "Well, aren't you already friends with her? You seem to spend enough time…"

Iroha tilted her head and the ribbon she wore on her ponytail looked like it almost twitched with her head movements. A look of confusion washed over her eyes and her brows tilted up at the strange statement that trailed off from the yellow-clad boy's mouth. "Hm…? Hum… not really? Or rather, it's a bit impossible to spend that time… I just know her in an acquainted sense, I suppose…" the strong yet cute voice of the peach-haired girl trailed off in thought, deciding to ignore the Kagamine boy's assumptions for now as she got caught in her own mind.

A pair of footsteps sounded on the floor, and a pair of shoes were clearly heard dropping on the ground, interrupting whatever response Len might have thought of giving to the deeply contemplative Iroha. The culprit of the interruption looked up, shaking her head at the strange sight before her, "What are you two talking about?" Rin swayed, almost losing her balance trying to put on her shoes while looking through the sheets of composition she held in her hand.

"Ah. Kagamine Rin." Iroha stared at the girl, wondering why the blonde had picked out so many of Miku's compositions.

Rin glanced up for a second, trying to get the other shoe on her foot, "Just 'Rin' is fine, Iroha. I told you already."

The other Kagamine observed the two's innocent exchanges; a bit more interested now that Iroha had pretty much given him a confession of her feelings towards his twin. Right? She did, right? It was masked, sure, but oh, Len was sure. It was quite the interesting development, he thought. He was going to have to watch this play out. "Hey, Rin. Are those all of Miku's songs?" He pointed at the sheets on her hands.

The older Kagamine nodded, organizing the papers in her hand as she made her way towards the outside and to the bike rack where Iroha kept her mode of transport. The other two followed alongside her. "Most are from this year and a bit from last… considering… yeah." Her gaze shifted downwards, Iroha once again noticing the apparent melancholy within.

"You still haven't told me what's wrong, Ka… Rin." Iroha spoke, shuffling her bike out of the racks and walking back to the twins. "You look down. Literally. Is something the matter with… Mikan?"

"Miku." Len corrected.

Iroha gave him a blank stare. "Isn't that what I said? Hatsune."

"Come on, how can you not know her name? She practically owns the world." Rin stated, walking alongside the peach-haired girl; the clicks of the gear sounding out.

A rumble from Iroha's stomach surprised the twins and they immediately realized it was a slip of the tongue; Iroha probably didn't mean to call their friend a citrus pome.

"Excuse me. I haven't eaten today. I apologize for the rudeness." Iroha spoke, bike in tow. Len trailed behind them, watching as he always did. Iroha didn't seem too fazed when it came to talking with the person she apparently liked and Rin was being her usual dishonest self—so in his mind, he was betting against himself on how fast Iroha's conspicuous tendencies would break the ice. There was no way Rin was going to be the catalyst in this particular relation; he was 99.999% sure.

"You live close anyways… you have something to eat at home, right?" Rin asked, sighing a bit. A nod from Iroha confirmed her speculation. "And I guess. Miku's not entirely how she used to be at the moment. I figure some music would help her."

"It must be hard. I heard about the rumours and about the producers from my cousin. No recording, and now this accident." A pass through the gate and they were on the sidewalk, walking the same path they did when Miku had gotten hit. A telephone pole in the distance made Rin anxious; as it always did recently on this walk. Iroha noted it, but never pointed it out. She continued her musings, "At least she's in recovery though, I'm glad. It's sad that her collaboration got put on hold though, I really wanted to hear what Touhi would make for Megurine and Hatsune."

Rin looked at the path they took; now overwhelmed by the fallen petals of the pink trees lining the sidewalks. She furrowed her brows at both the memory of the incident and at Iroha's words. "I guess that makes sense that you know about the rumours. I think mostly everyone does, I guess that's why they're troublesome in the first place." The bowtied girl looked at her ponytailed twin who gave her a puzzled look to match her own. A blink and a fall back from Iroha's pace before Rin spoke again, "But how do you know about Touhi? Miku or Luka or even our managers won't tell us about the collaboration or what happened to him. Just that his works are on hold and that meant Miku and Luka's upcoming project."

Len walked up next to his sister, matching her furrowed eyebrows, "Actually, how do you know about Touhi to begin with? He's primary Crypton talent and hasn't given out his name as 'Touhi'… he uses his stage name like all the other producers…"

The cat-like girl stopped right before the turn onto the corner at the bottom of the hill; her long ponytail wrapping around her when she turned her head at the baffled twins. Her trademark stare held their attention; her expression almost implying that the twins should already know what she was about to say. "Hm? Touhi is out of country right now… " Iroha blinked, realizing that she had only made the blonde pair even more confused with her seemingly unrelated answer.

The two stayed silent, gaping at Iroha's apparent vast knowledge of the missing producer. Did she have something to do with his disappearance? Should they call Kuroi to tell them they had new information? How did Iroha know something that even Kuroi or Yuu were having difficulties finding out?

"He's gone to console my cousin. My cousin being Furukawa Miki. She got me into AHS. I guess you should have heard of her; but she's pretty fickle and hasn't mentioned any friends to me other than the ones she's met since she left, so I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know her. She got jealous about the Crypton concert and took off suddenly to Korea for a while." Iroha tilted her head, looking at the intersection just a few meters away. Her eyes seemed distant at the thought of her relatives, and a certain flicker in her irises and a lowering of her eyelids when she mentioned Korea. The low clouds flew by quickly, seemingly intensifying her thoughts. This was where they usually parted; the twins went up the hill to the station and Iroha went forward, biking the rest of her way home.

"No, no, we know Miki." Rin stated, ignoring the sudden distant change in Iroha's features. The twins looked at each other again, a synchronized look of vexation shared between them. It was Len's turn to speak, "But that doesn't explain how you know Touhi and where he is right now."

Iroha hopped on her bike, wobbling side to side on her feet as she spoke. "Hm? Touhi is my cousin. Miki's cousin as well. The three of us are all related." She kept her balance on her right foot; pedalling backwards with her left, making a clicking sound as she tried to explain the situation she had set a bit. "Miki's always been annoyed at the fact that Touhi contracted with Crypton rather than AHS. It makes sense though since he's doing a lot more work and is more suited for Crypton's variety of talents, but Miki's never really liked that. I suppose the irritation trickled to Crypton as a whole. She's a real hard worker, so when she sees Crypton rising to the top so fast, she gets kind of offended… or something." Her subconscious pedalling stopped and so did the click of the gears, "She's usually not that immature, but I guess she can't help it considering Touhi is family. Connotations, I imagine. She has nothing against Crypton's talents or even Crypton, really. Her feelings just get in the way too easily. She fleeted off to Korea to escape all the media. She had some friends there, so I suppose she thought it'd be the best time to meet them, since she didn't want anything to do with Japan's idol scene since the start of the concert promos."

The twins blinked, taking Iroha's explanation in. Len stepped forward, his hand ruffling his hair in an attempt to organize it all, "So wait. So for one, Touhi is alive and safe, right?" Iroha raised an eyebrow in confusion, but nodded anyways to the Kagamine boy's question. "And you're his cousin. And so is Furukawa Miki. You're all cousins, right?" Another nod from the peach-haired girl. "Why didn't any of you inform anyone else?" Len's expression was unbelieving.

Iroha's golden irises looked up to the sky in wonder; her feet lifting off the ground and onto her bike pedals as she balanced herself on the bicycle effortlessly. "Hm… no-one asked? Touhi is pretty emotional too, he just left right after I told him Miki left for Korea. I guess he just figured things would be okay? Though really, I don't think he had to go so immediately; I told him that Miki seemed to be enjoying herself with her friends there…"

Rin walked up to the balancing girl, holding the frame of the bike to get Iroha's attention, "He left a potentially huge project in stall! Our president nor our managers had no idea where he went and as a result has been freaking out about where he is and if he was safe because his roommate was all hysterical about his sudden disappearance. And you're saying it's all because he went to chase after your spoiled cousin?"

Iroha gave the blonde girl a peculiar look; somewhere between confusion and apologetic, "I don't think any of us thought it'd be an issue. If I knew Crypton was so concerned about it, I would have informed you two of the situation a lot quicker. We don't intend to cause drama. I figure there's enough of that going around. However, I had no idea Touhi left things like that. I apologize on his behalf."

The ribonned Kagamine sighed; her fingers combing through her bangs in frustration and a bit of shame for her uncalled outburst, "Sorry. I got carried away. Thanks for the information though, Iroha. At least that's one thing we can call at least half-resolved."

The ponytailed girl turned on her bike and faced the intersection, giving them a nod and a small smile, "Don't worry about it. I can understand now why you would act like that. It seems Touhi has put your company into a lot of unnecessary stress." Her feet lifted off the ground and she balanced effortlessly again, unmoving forwards or backwards, just perfectly in place. "I better head home before I die of starvation. If you need to talk more about whatever's bothering you, feel free to seek me out, Kagamine Rin. And you too, Kagamine Len. It's nice to converse with you both." A small smile kept Rin silent—a nod sent to Len's way was meant to signify that it really was okay for him to talk to the cat-like girl as well. A grin was sent towards the blonde girl and Rin swore it almost sparkled in the brightness of the sun, the pink of the petals flowing perfectly around her as she gave her the expression she did. "Melancholic doesn't suit you too well." She waved, leaving the rosy petals fluttering around from the trail of her bike.

Rin stared at the girl's quickly vanishing form, unable to break the gaze she kept through the falling foliage. Len grinned at his twin's stupor, taking the chance to clash his palms together and speak in a starry-eyed, mocking tone, "She's so coooool~" he said in a sickeningly sweet voice; courageously teasing Rin.

He got an expected punch on the arm from the blonde girl. Rin could never really react to teasing all too well; especially when she had already thought that the emotions and scenes that were coursing through her head were embarrassing already. She couldn't be falling anyways; those feelings couldn't be admitted. Such fickle things like romance was something Kagamine Rin was immune to. The electrified sensations in her face and arms had to be a fluke—and it was all completely unforgivable. Kagamine Rin would absolutely never fall to such capricious vices.

A stifled snicker and an annoyed expression painted their faces. They made the impression of twin yellow going up on the petal covered sidewalk of the hill that had caused the annoyed honey-haired girl so many anxieties. They made their way to the station in silent musings; eager to see their injured friend.

Down the rails of the short trip at the destination at which the twins had intended to go; the teal eyes of a bandaged girl were struggling to pry open. A shaking darkness clouded her vision; images of her tears and despair from her dreams fading together in the back of her mind as consciousness slowly creeped into her body. A single tear formed at the corner of her eye and her lips pushed together into a firm frown—a quick roll to her uninjured side was the push she needed to wake.

"Nn…" A few slow blinks rattled off the drowsiness in her vision. A quick look around and Miku immediately recognized that she was in her own living room. The haze of familiarity clashed with a strange sense of discommunication when she looked at her couch and saw a mess of pink hair soundly asleep, clutching one of her couch pillows—though, thankfully, she managed to quickly recognize the form as fast as she got confused. Sitting up and stretching her neck, she mumbled to herself, narrating her life as it went, "Oh right… Megurine Luka… uhm… and I'm home, with injuries…" She stood up carefully, heading to the kitchen, wanting something to drink. She wondered if she even had anything edible there, "And I was gone for a week… eugh…" The teal haired girl reached for the handle of her fridge, knowing she'd have to throw out half the contents of it, "At least I should have juice… some vegetables should be fine… hm…" Miku sighed, shuffling through the contents of the cold cabinet and figured she should bring a wastebasket over for ease. Another sigh escaped her, the tear in her eye forming and threatening to fall once again as she threw away the spoiled products. What a strange dream she had… and how strange that it affected her like it did. The tears streaming from her face in that scenario her mind had thought of had somehow manifested into a tear in her waking life.

A sudden electronic drone and the lyrics to a song Miku did not recognize started to ring out. It startled her from her hunched position next to the fridge and she heard the sudden rustle on her couch with Luka sitting up groggily, obviously only half-awake. Miku blinked, watching the pink-haired girl yawn and stretch, letting the song ring out as she lazily walked towards the kitchen counter where her bag was set.

The pinkette looked at Miku by the fridge; the teal haired girl's startled expression and teary eye immediately waking her out her drowsiness, "Miku, goodness, are you okay?"

The teal-eyed girl stared at Luka's face, clutching her slinged arm with her right. The sudden beat of her heart upon seeing Luka's undeniably attractive features outside of her dream had put her into a stupor and her blank expression stayed; tears still threatening to fall.

Luka blinked. Why was Miku so taken aback right now? "Miku? Sweetie, you look terrified, are you okay?" the pinkette grabbed her bag, taking her phone and unlocking it to answer, her eyes still on Miku. "Hello, this is Megurine Luka." Miku nodded, watching the pinkette slowly walk next to her and hold her forehead; making sure she wasn't sick.

"Oh, Gumi. Hello. How are you?" Luka greeted, patting Miku's head gently and wiping away the wetness at the corner of her eye before it rolled down.

Miku blinked, feeling a strange sense of security at Luka's caring actions; the warmth on her cheek calming her anxieties slightly. She shook her head at Luka, indicating silently that was fine and turned back to the fridge to continue sorting out the produce within. Luka tilted her head as she conversed, a bit concerned about the tealette's strange expression but decided it'd be better asked when she was off the phone.

"I heard Miku got released from the hospital today, I just wanted to call to see what's up… and well, to talk about some things again." Gumi's voice talked softly over the speaker, the green-haired girl's tone sounding a bit curious.

Luka smiled, figuring Gumi had called to talk to her about _that_ once again. "That's correct, I'm actually at her place right now. We haven't been here long; we fell asleep on the couch as soon as we sat down."

Gumi let out an '_oho~' _, intrigued at the situation. "Slept together, I see."

The pinkette rolled her eyes, completely expectant of the remark she heard, "Yup. Farther than you're getting, right? _Oho~_"

Miku tilted her head, overhearing Luka's side of the conversation; a bit interested in the reason why the proper and gentle Luka she knew was speaking in such a… _teasing _manner. Who was on the other line anyways? The voice sounded feminine and young… a friend of hers? Miku's ears perked, keeping attention to the conversation while she sorted.

"Hey, that's not fair, that was a low blow." Gumi huffed on her side of the phone, "Anyways… I just wanted to ask you… if you know what food Lily likes to eat? She's… well… I just wanted to try my hand at cooking."

The pinkette stifled a laugh, the image of Gumi trying to survive in the kitchen to make a meal running through her head. She cleared her throat when she swore she could _hear_ Gumi's glare through the phone. The two had gotten to know each other since Miku's incident, considering Luka had made a habit of confiding in Meiko and Lily; Gumi was often around—Luka had suspected that the young green-haired girl had an interest in the older blonde. "Sure… Lily like spicy things. Vegetables or meat; roasted, stew, it doesn't really matter to her. That's her favourite taste." She crossed her arms, remembering something. "Gakupo should keep the house stocked with eggplants, right? Why don't you cook that with some tofu and chilli pepper? Lily would love that."

"You think so?" Gumi thought it over. The ingredients would be easy enough to find.

"Yep. She loves that dish. Just look up how to make it and try not blow up the kitchen. Ask Gakupo to help." Luka grinned, her voice once again falling to teasing, "Have fun on your date, _Gu~mi~cha~n~_"

An exasperated tone rang from the other line. Gumi was thankful for Luka's help and the pinkette's close relation to the blonde proved convenient for her interests. "That's gross, don't do that again. And it's not a date, she's just coming over to hang out with us. Meiko kicked her out for a while or something."

Luka leaned against the counter, watching Miku finish throwing away all of the spoiled edibles and putting the wastebasket back to where it had been before—next to the counter. The girl took out a container of vegetable juice and checked the expiry date; Luka walked towards the cabinets, pulling out a glass for Miku to use as she carried out her conversation. "Meiko kicked her out? How surprising. Lily must have drank everything if Meiko actually ended up making her leave."

Miku closed the fridge, finding an empty glass already on the counter. She glanced at Luka and was greeted with a nod and with a silent 'thanks' poured herself a glass of the green juice. She heard Meiko's name being mentioned and so was even more curious as to who was on the other line. She remembered the often inebriated brunette; so whoever was on the other line had to be a friend of Luka's, and most likely a friend of hers as well.

A small laugh and Luka bid Gumi a nice night. The pinkette looked over at Miku who had kept silent and decided she too, would have a drink of vegetable juice. The girl had gotten her quite hooked on the green drink. "What's wrong, Miku? You look rather stressed."

The teal-haired girl finished her glass and shook her head, her single side ponytail waving, "Who was that? And… I just had a bad… a weird dream is all."

Luka's eyebrows raised at the statement. The last time she heard things about Miku's dreams, it was about her being a decapitated cephalopod, "Hm? That was Gumi. The green haired girl that visited you at the hospital once, I think. You didn't remember her, but you had just met her too, so I guess that's understandable. And what was it about? Your dream, I mean." She kept her gaze on the girl, drinking her glass of juice quickly. Gosh, sometimes she didn't realize how thirsty she was.

The teal-eyed idol nodded at Luka's description of Gumi—she did remember a young green haired girl who visited. She suspected about the same age as herself; but she didn't remember who she was. Miku shifted her weight from foot to foot, figuring she'd try to remember the scenarios in her dream. "Uhm… I don't remember much of it. I just remember I was talking with Meiko… because… uh…" her eyebrows furrowed, realizing the weirdness of it all.

"Because…?" the pinkette blinked. There was no way any of Miku's dreams could top off her octopus self. At least she didn't seem to be involved in this one so far.

Miku glanced down, reluctantly continuing, a bit red at the cheeks, "Well… I was talking to Meiko and I was crying. Like, really breaking down… and I was on the floor, crying because… well, of you."

Ah, maybe she had thought it too soon. Luka pointed to herself in a fleeting gesture and blinked, concerned about Miku's visible turn of emotions. The teal haired girl looked like she was about cry then and there too. "Me? Did I do something in your dream? Eh…? Goodness. Miku, I want you to know now that I'd never hurt you. Ah…" Luka felt apologetic and a bit confused at Miku's fallen expression, not really knowing what to do.

Miku shook her head, realizing Luka was getting too flustered at her roundabout explanations, "It's not that you did anything really… it was… well… I was crying because you turned into… into…" Miku's expression turned into a rather interesting one; for she herself seemed lost in what to feel about what she was about to say to the lady in front of her, "…into… a… a tuna… like, with your hair still and everything… but I don't think you were moving; I didn't want that for you, I wanted you back to… how you usually are… so… I cried…? I'm sorry, I'm just now realizing how weird that is… now that I say it out loud. But I was like, really heartbroken in my dream that you were like that."

A few blinks from the pinkette gave way to the pink hue creeping to her cheeks, "That's… sweet, Miku. Really. Weird, but sweet." It was a little concerning how often Miku dreamt of her in an anthromorphized form, but she found the sentiment flattering regardless. "I don't think I'll be turning into any ocean creatures anytime soon though, so don't worry." She flashed a grin at the girl, "I'm here to look after you and take care of you, after all."

Miku nodded, but her gaze still fell to the side, "I know… I just… I'm surprised it affected me that much, is all." A sigh and she returned the container of juice back to the fridge, "I feel really close to you for some reason. I think if I lost you… tuna-related incident or not, I'd probably react the same way… bawling and all that."

The taller girl laughed slightly, trying to hide the hue on her features by turning to the side, "Thank you. I suppose that's because I'm the first one you saw when you woke up… you know, tied emotions with events. I was imposing on you at the hospital ninety percent of the time too. So, I can understand why you'd feel that way." A poker faced smile was given to the tealette, "You don't remember much of me, so I'm not sure you'd have felt that way before."

Miku's lips immediately pursed into a frown, "I don't think that's the case. I've always felt close to you, even when I first woke up and had no idea who the pink haired intruder in my hospital room was."

A shake of the head and the poker face smile stayed, "I don't know sweetie. We'll have to talk about that later, hm? What do you say we go to Crypton real quick to pick up that concert footage?" Luka walked to the other side of the counter; well aware that she was avoiding the topic. It was a confusing thing to think about; Miku's feelings. She honestly did believe that Miku was only so close to her because she had been present for nearly the entire time Miku was awake since after the incident and the surgery.

Her first new memory.

Her first new friend.

Her first companion in a world she couldn't quite put together yet.

"Right now? Uh…" the girl looked around her apartment, seeing that everything was still in the bags she had packed from the hospital, "Sure, I guess? I can put everything away later… and take a bath."

Luka nodded, quickly grabbing her bag and keys and heading for the doorway to put her shoes on. "Let's get going then. Takanashi might leave soon and I don't really want to call to get access to the office."

Miku nodded, glad that her shoes were easy to slip on. Any different and she'd have an issue putting it on with just one functional arm, "By the way, you're going to stay with me, right? Or am I staying with you? Until I get cleared by the hospital, I mean…"

The pink idol spun her keys around her finger, replying quickly. She had thought out the situation before she had picked up Miku, after all. "I think me staying here is better. You'll have school soon… your place is much closer to the campus than mine. You're more familiar here too, right? If I stay here, I can just help you get back to your normal every day… if you don't mind that is. If you want, on weekends, you can stay at my condo… it's a bit closer the hospital… I can get there pretty quick for your appointments or whatever is needed." She coughed, letting her mind recall the ticket she was yet to receive in the mail for her speeding citation.

Miku straightened up, putting her free hand in her pocket, "Of course I don't. Just… where are you going to sleep? I only have one bed. I don't want you to have to sleep on the couch every night you stay here." She moved towards the doorway, turning the knob and letting the spring breeze in.

Luka followed her slow steps outside. "That's kind of you. The couch would have been fine… but well, do you have an extra futon? That'd be good enough. If you don't have any, I can bring some over…"

Miku shook her head, leading the way down the stairs, her movements nearly automatic and she took comfort in that, "No need for that, I have a few futons. If you're okay with that… then I guess it works."

"Alright then. That's set." The pinkette pressed a button the remote hanging off her keychain and her car sounded in the distance, "Let's get going then and come back here quickly. That nap made me feel really lazy. And hungry."

"You just ate." Miku pointed out, walking towards the petite gray vehicle.

"A few balls of takoyaki isn't sufficient enough food." Luka walked faster, reaching the car first and opened the passenger door for the tealette.

The shorter girl got in the car and got herself seated, thanking Luka as she closed the door. When the pinkette entered the vehicle herself, Miku looked her direction, recalling the items she went through in her fridge. "We can make curry and rice later. How about that?"

"Sounds good to me." Luka smiled, once again turning her car on and heading back to the highway. She was driving around a lot these days, it seemed. Maybe she could teach Miku how to drive and urge her to get license so she could sit in the passenger seat for once; though, she'd have to wait for that considering Miku was still injured.

A turn at the corner of the street before the highway and the train station was passed and Luka caught a glimpse of a white ribbon and two hues of gold, but didn't think too much on it and carried on with her drive to the studio.

Unknown to the yellow pair; the person they were walking to see had just passed by. They made their way down the short path from the station to Miku's apartment, keeping quiet to themselves in a comfortable silence. They walked entered the lot and Len noticed something missing from where it should be, but didn't think much of it as they walked up the stairs and to Miku's door, knocking softly and ringing the doorbell once.

Silence.

The twins looked at each other; Rin shrugged. Another knock on the door, a little louder. A few moments passed and Len decided to ring the doorbell a few times.

Silence. A few minutes—still, silence.

Rin crossed her arms in wonder, "I wonder if she's not home yet?"

Len shrugged, looking down from the rails of the second floor, "I guess not. I don't see Luka's car, now that you mention it…"

The ribboned twin walked over, perusing the lot with her eye and sure enough, the gray car was nowhere to be found. "That's weird, they should have been here hours ago…" She put her hands on her hips, staring at Miku's locked door. "Call Miku, Len. Maybe they're asleep or something."

Len shrugged, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone, unlocking it and dialing a familiar number, "Luka's car isn't here, so I'm pretty sure they're not sleeping…" he pressed call, letting the tone of the dialer play through—the classic ringing filling his ear a few times.

"Hello?" Miku's voice sounded, the underlying cheery tone he was used to present.

"Miku, heyo. It's Len. How are you?" Len smiled, enjoying the normality of the conversation he engaged in.

"I'm doing fine. What's up?"

Len looked at Rin who eagerly awaited information. "Ah, well, Rin and I are at your apartment, we were wondering where you were since no-one was answering. " He took note of what sounded like the sounds of wind passing by.

"Ah, sorry. We just left. I'm in Luka's car right now, we're heading to the studio. Did you need something?"

Len shook his head, despite Miku not being able to see, "That's what I thought. That's okay, we just wanted to say hi, really." Rin tilted her head at her brother's conversation, only getting pieces from Miku's side. Len nodded, "We'll just come back another time." He looked at Rin again; the Kagamine girl indicating that he should tell her she gave her greetings too. "And Rin says hi too. She brought some sheets for you; songs from the past year that she thought you might want to have."

A small laugh from the other side lifted Len's lingering worries about his friend, "Tell her I said hello too. And thanks, I was actually going to try to get a copy from the studio, but if Rin already brought some, I won't bother with trying to find the copies since I'm not really sure what I should look for. And yeah, that's fine; I guess just call before you come over. I know we usually don't need to, but I might be at the doctor's or something… so it's better to check with me first for now."

The Kagamine boy nodded again, "Got it. Take care, Miku. We'll see you another time." Len hung up, looking at his sister and explaining where Miku had gone. The Kagamine girl half-scowled, complaining that they should have called to check and Len reciting that that was what Miku had just said.

On the highway, the tealette stared at her phone, figuring to lock it before putting it back in her bag. The road passed by and the highway drone was fairly uneventful once again; Miku just making comments about the scenery outside and how strangely familiar it all was, even though she didn't quite remember everything that passed by; mentioning that she'd usually take the train to the studio, so there was no reason she should remember the highway view. Luka quickly explained to her once more about exactly how often she stayed at the tealette's apartment; giving a fleeting mention of their duet without giving away what it all was about, not really wanting to explain it without Miku watching and listening to it first—and being sure to make a point about how hard it was to practice all the choreography that came along the composition. The tealette just nodded, not really remembering anything so she took Luka's word for it, once again wondering to herself how close she and Luka had been if the pinkette stayed so often.

When the gray Miata pulled into the studio lot, Luka made haste with getting out and getting to Takanashi's office; not wanting to miss the young manager. Miku strained to keep pace, but made no comments about Luka's hurried actions. The tealette still remembered that once Takanashi was out of the office, it would be hard to reach the manager until the next day.

They quickly took the elevator; the jazz instrumental version of a song Miku recognized as Meiko's 'Change Me' playing on the ascend up the building. She bobbed her head along with the beat, making a mental note to pay the brunette a visit—preferably with sake in hand to appease her. The conversation she overheard from Luka earlier made it seem like she was in a quarrel with someone about alcohol; Miku nodded to herself—she'll ask Luka to buy a bottle for her.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped out simultaneously, walking down the corridor shoulder to shoulder towards a door they both knew well. A view down the hall revealed a short figure tinkering with a scraper the name plate on the young manager's door.

"Yuu-san?" Miku blinked, wondering what the short assistant was doing.

Olive locks swayed at the turn of the head; the scraping sound stopped. "Hm? Miku!" Quickly standing straight and dusting off, Yuu ran over to Miku, "I didn't expect to see you here this soon. How are you feeling?" Yuu's eyes flickered with an honest happiness, glad to see the young idol once more. The stress of dealing with all the company's issues as of late had been grinding on the nerve and seeing the tealette standing and cheery in person was something that was welcomed for the psyche. A thorough look-over proved that Miku still needed time to recover—she certainly wouldn't be performing anytime soon. "That bandage on your head looks pretty nasty. They shaved your hair too… it's not much, is it?"

Miku shook her head, her free hand going up the mentioned wrapping on her forehead, "No, it's not, thankfully. They only shaved part of my bangs… most of the incision they made was on the side of my forehead, it only goes a bit up my scalp. It's going to scar, but my hair should cover it… once it grows back." Miku sighed, letting her arm fall, "It's going to look weird for a while though."

Yuu grinned, ruffling the part of Miku's hair that wasn't bandaged away. "I bet. Anyways, what's going on? Did you need something from Takanashi?" Yuu looked at the nameplate, stickers of blue stars half scraped away. "Your dear manager isn't here, I'm afraid. I'm stuck here scraping the name plate clean anyways." A sigh. "I don't know why I bother, I know Kuroi's just going to come back here with more stickers and it'll be a galaxy again within the week."

Luka giggled, finding the assistant's frustrations to be true, "We're just here to pick up some concert footage. I was trying to catch Takanashi… but well, since you're here, you know where it's kept, right? Miku wanted to watch it and Kuroi suggested doing just that. You know, to help remember and all that."

The short assistant nodded, opening the door to Takanashi's office, "It's right on the desk. There's a few copies, so feel free to just take one. It's a rough edit, so don't expect anything too fancy as of right now." Brown eyes looked over the two, a bit concerned about the situation. "Don't overwork yourselves; there's not much to do around the studio right now, so don't feel compelled to work or anything. Kuroi wanted to talk to both of you, but I'm sure Takanashi knows what it's about too. Both of them aren't even here anyways, so you can't even go see them even if you wanted to…" A frustrated sigh.

The pinkette nodded and headed for the young manager's desk; Miku staying just outside to observe Yuu's cleaning of the nameplate while Luka retrieved the concert disc. Luka grabbed it carefully, eyeing a piece of paper on the desk with the idol's names on it—but only for a fleeting moment. She made her way back next to Miku and looked at Yuu, "I know, Kuroi told me. We'll be back here soon enough anyways; sometime this week, I imagine. And don't worry, I'll make sure of that. I'm taking care of things, so I'll be sure to make Miku rest a lot instead of overachieving like she usually does." A sly grin was sent towards Miku and the tealette pouted in return. "That's all we needed. Thanks, Yuu. We'll see you later."

The tawny-haired assistant nodded, bidding them farewell as they disappeared down the hallway towards the elevator.

As the idol pair headed out the building and out to the lot, a familiar voice called out—barely catching the girl's attentions as they got into the car. Miku looked around, focusing on the direction of the sound and recognizing the suited figure, "Oh. It's Takanashi… Luka, look." Miku pointed towards the edge of the lot, near the building.

Luka glanced at where Miku pointed and surely enough saw dark locks and unmistakable green eyes, "Oh, you're right." Luka turned on her car as the figure waved towards them. Getting into gear and rolling down her windows, she slowly rolled towards the young manager; talking through the passenger window. "Takanashi, we were just looking for you."

Green eyes smiled at the sight of Miku in the passenger seat, seemingly well, "Miku, I'm glad to see you here. Is Luka taking good care of you?" Miku nodded, smiling at the busy manager. "Good. I'm glad to have caught you, I was actually about to call you two."

Luka tilted her head, putting the car in neutral and engaging her hand brake lock, "What for? Something serious?"

A shake of the head from the young manager, "No, nothing like that. Nothing bad like you are probably thinking anyways." A grin and a shift of attention to the tealette. "Miku, I've got some news for you. I know it might be too soon to ask of you, but I've got someone you should see. He's been working with us with updating the Vocaloid project and… well, I'm sure it'd be an interesting meeting between you two."

Miku tilted her head and Luka furrowed her eyebrows. The tealette let out a 'hm' before replying, "Sure? I don't see why I'd need to be there if it's about the Vocaloid project though… that's all software side, right? I thought my part was complete?"

The young manager stood, backing a bit from the vehicle before clarifying, "Yes, that's true. But we're updating it for more flexibility… we'd like for you to do certain voice samples for it again. Luka and the Kagamines too, but your voicebank data goes first. We would like to release the append as soon as we can."

"Append?" Luka questioned, curious about the new information.

"That's the name for the update. Appends, with a variety of voice samples, for different genres… so when producers work, it's more flexible and there's a better feel for when they are actually sung." Takanashi explained, arms crossed next to the car.

The pinkette nodded, internally agreeing about the situation Takanashi had presented.

Miku mused it over, blinking and making sense of it, "I guess that makes sense. I don't know when I'll have free time… sometime this week, yes. Can I just give you a call?" The tealette looked at Luka, giving her a questioning look—Luka shrugged and Miku understood it as Luka not minding when they went to Crypton. The pinkette's schedule had been cleared as well anyways. "I want to watch the concert footage and look over some compositions and see what I can remember for now."

Takanashi nodded, smiling at the pair in the car; backing away a bit, lest the car roll on, "Ah, you got the footage already? That's good. What you said sounds like a good plan; no need to rush, just anytime this week is fine. Call me beforehand so I can make sure the guy I mentioned is around too… I'm sure you'd want to ask a few questions." Green eyes fell on to the pink haired driver, "Feel free to come along too, Luka. I think you'll have a few questions for him yourself." Luka gave a confused look to the dark haired manager and was given back a grin, "Well, I'll see you then. Drive safe." A wave and a smile and Takanashi headed back towards the building.

The teal-eyed driver looked at her teal-eyed passenger, "Well… that was a bit strange. I wonder who this 'guy' is." Luka wondered, releasing the lock on the hand brake and shifting into gear; driving out of the lot and on the familiar drive back to Miku's.

The tealette shook her head at Luka's question, "No clue. I guess we'll find out soon enough."

Luka looked ahead, the scenery cast by the slowly fading sun giving the ride a multi-coloured view. The clouds passed by in patches blotting the changing hue of the sky and Miku was fast asleep once more. Luka smiled, keeping silent thoughts to herself; driving a bit more carefully than her usual way.

A stop and the cease of the humming of a vehicle awoke Miku from her short nap. A yawn and look to her side revealed Luka getting her bag from the back area of the seat. "Oh. We're here." Luka let out a small laugh, amused at Miku's grogginess. The tealette sat up and unbuckled herself from the seat, quickly opening the door and stepping out to get a breath of the outside air.

The two made their familiar way back up the steps and to Miku's door; Luka unlocking it with a key on her keychain; making Miku question the pinkette once again. The taller idol just stared at Miku and smiled and eventually Miku put all the hints together and figured that it was her that had given Luka the key. A quick shuffling inside and Miku was immediately in the kitchen, chopping up carrots and potatoes for the curry they were going to have for dinner. Luka smiled and recited that she thought the tealette wasn't hungry, to which Miku just responded with a playful 'shut up', focusing more on cutting up the vegetables that was needed for the dish than playing teases with the pinkette. The girl chopped diligently and Luka tried to help, but had no idea what to really do aside from take the curry mix out of the box and cut them at the grooves; Miku figured it'd be best if she just did the cooking by herself; judging by Luka's… skill. Miku's suggestion for a bath was all Luka needed to convince her to get washed and cleaned while the tealette prepared dinner. As much as she liked to relax; Luka made quick work of washing herself; not really wanting to leave Miku by herself for too long.

A change into loose clothing she considered pajamas and a towel to the head and Luka was back out in the main area of Miku's apartment; drying off her hair carefully while she watched. The taller girl helped herself to a glass of water, casually suggesting that Miku should take a bath as well. The ponytailed tealette nodded, stirring the simmering pot in front of her slowly before telling Luka that was what she had intended to do. Miku instructed her freshly showered co-star to keep an eye on the curry and to let it boil but to stir it occasionally as well. Luka smiled, telling her it'd be okay. She set the flame of the stove to a low heat and quickly helped Miku take off the bandages and braces that kept her injuries hidden and supported. A glance at the scabbing wound on the teal idol's forehead made Luka wince as she took the last bandages off; making sure to tell Miku not to scrub too hard or irritate the wounds.

The girl waved it off, already knowing to do as Luka had said. She grabbed a towel from where she remembered and some house clothes to change in before heading in for her long and well deserved bath. Luka kept eye on the curry as instructed; figuring she might as well wash and cook the rice while Miku bathed; leaving just the actual eating to do. Setting the rice was easy enough to do; but since Luka had no idea how long to cook curry or how to tell if it was done, she ended up tasting the dish more often than a normal person would. Almost feeling full from all the samples she had consumed, Luka turned off the stove; leaving the pot to simmer on top, keeping the dish warm. Miku was taking a while with her bath and if it were not for some of Miku's singing seeping through the walls, Luka would have worried and checked on her within several minutes of her entering the bath—just to make sure she was okay. Luka figured to set out the plates and utensils on the small table; hearing the door of the bathroom click open as she filled both with rice and leaving the curry on the side, touching the pure white of the steaming rice slightly.

Miku returned to the kitchen with fresh bandages along with her wrist brace, shoulder brace and sling in hand, taking a deep breath, letting the aroma of the hot food flood her senses. "That smells delicious. You made the rice too, thank you." She smiled at Luka; the pinkette walking towards her and helping her put the wrist brace on.

"No problem, I figured you'd just want to eat after that bath. You took quite a while, dear." Luka smiled playfully, taking the bandages Miku held and starting to wrap it, but stopped immediately, "I think we better let your hair dry off before that. And I don't think you'll really need the sling, sweetie. Let's leave that for when you're going to go out, hm?" A kind smile was sent towards Miku's direction and the tealette nodded, agreeing with Luka; quite relieved as well. She didn't really want to put the brace and sling back on; it was much more comfortable with just the wrist brace on.

"I'll be careful anyways. It's not like it doesn't hurt me if I'm careless." A sigh and Miku was walking towards the table, pulling out her seat and devouring the plate with her eyes. Luka joined her, facing the girl; having light conversations during their meal. Miku kept a stare on Luka the entire time, mostly in thought but Luka was rather apprehensive of the unintentionally piercing look.

"Miku? Did I do something?" Luka asked, a half smile on her face.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Miku blinked, confused at the sudden prompt.

"You've been staring at me for the past few minutes, sweetie." Luka explained, moving her empty plate a bit forward on the table so she could have room to rest her hands.

"Ah… sorry, I didn't mean to, I was just thinking." Miku played with her fork, making shapes with the leftover sauce on the white plate, "Are you ever going to explain about why we're on ´vacation'? Not working on songs… And something about rumours… or something. I still don't know what's going on and it seems like it's a big deal…"

Luka blinked a few times, realizing that she had indeed been keeping Miku in the dark about all the issues at hand and the explanation that tied most of the relationships she was curious about together. "That's right, isn't it? I apologize, Miku. I didn't mean to. Just that the times you asked for an explanation were rather inopportune." A kind smile and Luka propped up her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands, "What do you want to know?"

Miku closed her eyes, thinking for a moment before shaking her head, "Uhm... just give me everything, I guess?"

The pinkette nodded, figuring that would be her response, "Alright… well, first off, as I explained earlier, Crypton had a concert earlier this month. We'll watch the concert sometime soon and you'll see for yourself. After the concert, Takanashi called us over to the VIP box and told us a producer was really impressed by our duet—as I said, you'll see when you watch—anyways, the producer really wanted to work with us on a song; and since we had really good harmonization, we agreed. We had started working on it at my condo almost immediately, but the producer, Touhi, went missing and hasn't really been heard from since; but Kuroi found out that his passport is missing, so don't worry. We suspect he's just out of country or something."

Luka fiddled with her hands, watching Miku's attentive expression and nods as she spoke, "So, that's part of the reason why we can't work on anything. Our producer is nowhere to be found at the moment. To add to it, the other producers in Crypton are having a dispute over a certain song that we both sang—I'll give you a hint, it's the same duet—and are really disgruntled about the way the Vocaloid project currently handles producer credits. Since it's so easy to utilize it and since there are so many producers both in company and outside that use it; it's hard to prove who really did what song. That's not exactly something we can change at the moment, that's more producer mentality than anything. The two producers involved in the main scuffle seem to be simmering down though and everyone else is starting to get back to producing; I imagine the appends that Takanashi mentioned will greatly help divert attention back to the actual producing rather than the drama around it. One of the producers involved is Nato… another big producer of yours and mine; He's got a lot of support from the main group of producers though, so they haven't made any songs since they're so focused on proving Nato's work was plagiarised by another producer… smaller producer; but I don't know, I guess they don't have definitive proof or something. So, that's another part of the reason why we're not making songs."

Miku nodded, playing with the side of her bangs that didn't get shaved away; attentively listening to what seemed like rather silly issues. Luka paused for a second, wondering how to go about explaining the rest, "Hm… next, I guess you don't remember it too much, but the duet I've been talking about has sparked some rumours about you and me." She paused to smirk at Miku's slightly red expression; the face she loved to tease showing itself slightly, "There's a lot of that actually… to add to that, there's rumours of you being asexual. Not being interested in romance since you apparently turn down each confession that was given to you. There's even rumours about us not existing… I guess that was propelled by the Vocaloid project having realistic enough voicebanks; some people don't believe there are actual singers." A cross of the arms and a slight lean back on the chair and Luka explained the plan that was carried out, "The president and our manager suggested that you go out in public more, go out on dates with boys… different boys to help swat away those rumours… you know, kill all the birds with one stone and all. They figured giving you vacation time would help propel the image of the real you needing some time off after all that work… or something to that effect."

Miku's expression fell to a slightly annoyed one, focusing on the silly suggestion the president and the manager had apparently come up with. "Go out on dates with different boys? What kind of suggestion is that?"

Luka laughed, finding Miku's consistent reactions endearing, "I know, you said nearly the exact same thing when it was suggested." She grinned, "Anyways, we met up with Meiko and some people from Internet Co., another agency, if you don't remember, and we kind of figured out a plan there."

Luka stood up, taking the plates off the table and setting them in the sink. She walked over to where her and Miku's bags sat; taking Miku's phone as the tealette watched curiously. She browsed around on the touchscreen before finally stopping and giving the girl the phone, showing Miku the display—the picture of her disguised self by the cherry trees at the gate of Miku's school.

"Wh… who's that?" Miku blinked, finding a feel of warmth creeping to her cheeks again and a sense of strange familiarity at the picture.

"That would be…" Luka straightened up, pulling her hair back to create a short haired illusion, "Me."

"Wha…?" Miku gaped, unbelieving. "But… your boobs…!"

A laugh was let out and Luka let her hair down before going back to the sink to start the water. "I binded them down. You could still tell if you were really looking, but from a fleeting glance, it was pretty convincing, don't you think?" The pinkette smiled, looking at Miku as she started washing the dishes they had used.

"No kidding, that looks nothing like you… not at first glance anyways. The wig and the glasses really helped with that…" Miku stared at her screen, gawking at the boy that was apparently Megurine Luka. "So what does that have to do with anything?"

Luka rinsed off the soapy dishes, putting it on the rack next to the sink to dry, "Well, since you were so adverse to the idea of dating several boys, Lily… ah, I don't think you remember her; she visited though. The blonde that looks like she could be the Kagamine's older sister—she suggested that _I_ go out on those dates with you considering _you _were so against having to go out with boys and falsely accepting confessions… and everyone figured I'd be the best choice considering we were already close and since I already owned a lot of clothes and wigs and had experience with disguises. I had to wear them a lot when I first got contracted… fans get crazy."

Miku nodded, knowing exactly what Luka meant. Fans had been courteous enough to give her room, but she suspected it was because of her young age, considering the Kagamines were not really hassled too much as well. "So… I was going out with you? Dates and stuff?"

Luka waved her hand, drying them off with a small towel, "It was only once and it was just to dispel the rumours. We were trying it out and we were supposed to go on our second one to go to the observatory near my condo, but well, that was the day you got into an accident, so we never made it." Her eyes wandered the room, the heavy feel of sleepiness starting to crawl into her senses. "Where do you keep the futons?"

The teal haired girl crossed her arms in her chair, taking in all the information. She pointed to the hallway at Luka's question, "Hallway closet." She looked up, pondering. Now that she had a better grasp of where herself and Luka stood; everything in general seemed a bit clearer. "So I guess that's why I feel so close to you? We hang around each other a lot. That's enough to create a strong enough tie, I think."

"Maybe. I'm not sure. Like I said, I think it's probably because I'm the first one you saw when you woke up at the hospital and I'm the one constantly around." The pinkette yawned and stretched, walking over to the indicated closet, grabbing the rolled bedding. "Where do I roll this out? Dance room?" She looked at Miku's form, noting that her hair had finally dried. "Do you want to bandage your head again before going to sleep?"

Miku pouted at Luka's deflections, "Well, even so, that's valid enough reason…" a sigh as she trailed off on her sentence, not really sure what her own words had meant. A valid enough reason? For what? Her meek voice called out, "And no, I think it's better if it aired out… let it scab…" she looked at the closet, "Uhm… can you get two, actually…? Roll them out in my room… next to each other and head to head, you know? I want to talk more."

The pinkette blinked once but agreed without question, "Sure. I'll go lay them out now." She took the bedding, heading over to Miku's open bedroom door and dropping both on the floor, laying them out on the small space between the bed and wall. She had laid it in a fashion on which they were rotated and next to each other, usually leaving one person's head to the other person's feet; but instead of leaving it at that, the pinkette adjusted the positions of futon so that it was more head to neck rather than head to feet; a position reminiscence of the yin and yang symbol often referenced in Asian philosophy—just as Miku had requested. "Anyways… When you got into the accident, it was right before we were to meet for our second outing, like I said; so I had to take the train back to my place to get my car to head over to the hospital… apparently my mood wasn't the best at the time and I gave off the aura of delinquency, so people are saying that you're going out with a delinquent. When media caught air of the incident, they started making crazy ties like you dating people affiliated with the mafia, or that Crypton was even trying to get rid of you because of the pressure of the rumours."

A small frown crept to Miku's face. Sometimes these rumours really got out of hand. "That sounds dumb…? Why would they even think I don't exist… Or that Crypton was trying to get rid of their own talents?" A sigh and all Luka gave her was a shrug, not really understanding the mindset of the media rumour mill either. The tealette walked around the common area of her apartment, turning off the lights as she headed back to the bedroom, finding Luka already in one of the laid out futons. She sighed once more, turning off the last light; letting only the rays of the young night's moon guide her to the unoccupied bedding. It was still early, but she knew both of them were tired. Going around town and trying to figure everything out and keeping up at the same time really took a toll and the naps they had caught throughout only helped to make them sleepier than they were before. So much for talking more tonight.

With a yawn and a turn towards the pinkette, Miku curled into her sheets. She observed Luka's neutral features; the glow through the window giving her enough light to see the countours of her form as she fell into a deeper sleep, "So we really were going out, huh? Set up dates to get rid of rumours…" the teal-haired girl mumbled to herself, closing her eyes and thinking for a few moments, feeling the ever familiar feel of drowsiness setting in. A whispered sentence was all that was uttered before she fell into unconsciousness. "I wonder if I could properly love you next time."

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><p><em>Author's Notes: Okay, so at least it was long, right? I'm actually in the middle of working on all the other chapters right now (4 chapters at the same time in fact), so things are a little strange right now. For me, I'm nearing the end of the fic! For you guys, we've barely even gotten halfway! Hahaha!<em>

_But really though, I do apologize for taking so long. There's someone you most likely know that you can sort of blame for distracting me so well, but ah, this is mostly my fault for putting it off for so many weeks. However, now that all the end/start of the year madness has died down, I'm finally finding some time to sit down, read everything through properly and actually write. You guys have no idea how good it feels to look over my story notes once more and have a good grasp of what I want to do! It's been a crazy process these past weeks I've been gone (I haven't been completely slacking off!) but I got it all down. Useless fact: I revised this chapter at the very least 4 times. I have pages of cut out/revised scenes in a completely different document because of this, haha._

_Ah, in any case, the next one should be out soon too. : ) I really shouldn't make promises, but thank you for keeping up this far! _

_-Tsubom33_


	8. The Sound That Made Me

**The Distance These Hands Can Reach**

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><p>Chapter 8 – The Sound That Made Me…<p>

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><p><em>Author's notes:<em>

_Hello!_

…_I'm sorry!_

_It's been soooo long since I last updated, I realize. Life's been so hectic, but I won't use that as an excuse, really. But! I graduated, re-enrolled for more classes regardless, went to SMTOWN, got into a car accident, went to Otakon… a bunch of things have happened._

_Ah! I won't stall with my babbling; if you want to know more/ask more, formspring's the place to go and read/ask! I try to answer as much as I can._

_Now, this chapter is… reaaaalllllyyyy long. So please, get comfortable. I'm not exaggerating; I'm sure you can just look at the scroll bar right now and see how long it is. This covers pretty much the entire concert (you'll see) and a few other things. I've actually had it written for a while now, but I have a weird mindset/schedule in which I can't release until I am ahead… now, I'm almost done with the story, like I said, but not completely. It's gotten much longer than I anticipated; I don't even know what happened. The story just adds on to itself._

_Anyways, here's the long awaited chapter 8! Enjoy!_

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><p>"What's your favourite genre of music?"<p>

A yawn. "Rock, I guess? Electro too… and… everything. I can't pick a favourite when it comes to that, sorry… different question?"

A matching yawn. "Okay, then… what about… what's your favourite food?"

A smile and a roll of the eyes. "That's not even a question, I _know_ you know what my favourite food is, you already showed that you do."

A small laugh and a turn, a shuffle of bed sheets. "You're not answering my questions though. Fine… what's your favourite movie?"

Silence and closed eyes.

"Did you fall asleep again?" A blink and another roll; a shift to rest a head on the elbow.

A shake of the head and a turn towards the questioner, hand gently placed on the stomach. "No, I was thinking. Movies are a hard one… I'm not sure if I have a favourite. I guess it's still 'Kiki's Delivery Service'."

A small smile tell-tale from just the eyes. "That's cute."

A pout and a pink hue. "What? It's animated, so…? It's a great story."

Another small laugh and a genuine, kind smile once more. "Don't get defensive, I wasn't making fun of it or you… it's one of my favourites too."

A cover being pulled up over the head and an almost inaudible whine.

A grin. "Ah, have I made you mad? I love that movie too. There's nothing wrong with it being animated." A gentle poke through the sheets to lower guard. "Next… let's see… what's your… favourite word?"

Another pull of the covers to reveal a wondering expression. "That's a weird one… do most people have a favourite word? Let me think… Uhm… I guess… '_kokoro'_?"

A raise of the eyebrow. "A fan of the literature?"

A small nod. "I am. But that's not the main reason… the meaning of it. The book lays it out really well, but to put it simply, I just like that it's the core of all emotions and feelings. Even in the writing system… characters for emotions and feelings will have _'kokoro'_ as a radical… so, it's like everything stems from the heart. Love or otherwise."

Closed eyes and a hidden smile at the explanation. "That's a pretty solid reason… a nice word to choose as well."

A pair of squinted eyes leered playfully at the form next to it. "Is that all…?"

A stretch, a yawn, a few blinks. Slowly sitting up from underneath the warm covers of the bed sheets, Megurine Luka looked down at the still curled up Hatsune Miku. "As much as I'd like to stay nice and warm in these sheets, I think it's about time we got up. It's almost ten, we've been here a long time." A deep inhale and a stretch of the neck and Luka was out of the sheets and standing, already straightening the bedding. "How about one more?"

Miku yawned, sitting up slowly, finding it hard to leave the cocoon of warmth the sheets she had curled up in, "Sure?"

The pinkette winked at the groggy girl, folding up the bedding perfectly and stowing it away next to the foot of Miku's bed, "Do you want to see anyone right now?"

The teal-haired girl blinked at the strange question, "_See_? That's kind of a double meaning…" Miku muttered, arms gently crossed to think of it thoroughly. "What do you mean?"

A trademark grin graced Luka's features, "What do you think I mean?"

Miku furrowed her eyebrows, slowly getting out of her futon and lazily straightening it up like Luka had just done as she thought over the question. "No. I don't think I want to see anyone right now." A secretive smile curved her lips and her eyes closed along with it, "I'm fine at the moment."

The taller idol walked past the girl, walking towards the doorway slowly; her curiosity piqued at Miku's unexpected answer. "Oh? What's that supposed to mean?"

The tealette finished folding the futon, glancing over at Luka at the doorway as she stood, shoving the slightly sloppily folded bedding next to Luka's neatly folded ones. "What do you think it means?"

A laugh and a smile subconsciously showed at Miku's playful nature. Luka shook her head and headed for the bathroom, wanting to wash her face and get ready for the day ahead.

Much to the other's umbrage, her own mental state wasn't so quick to get ready—the day was bright and the two idols had gotten plenty of rest, but Hatsune Miku wanted nothing more than to unfold the futon once more and completely disregard the world around her. A look to her side and saw her neatly made bed, inviting; tempting. A sigh.

A shuffle of steps through the hallway mixed with the sounds of the water running in the bathroom as a slump of teal made its way to the living room and down again on the couch that somehow comforted her more than anything in the world; though, she figured anything would be better than the sensation of a thousand molten picks striking her brain right now.

A distinct grumble of the stomach made Miku aware of her own hunger, but alas, she paid no heed to it. She couldn't. Her focus was unwillingly elsewhere. The one thing she wanted to forget about had decided to make itself known to her at all times; and Miku could do nothing but curl up on her couch, near tears as she lamented the migraine that had invaded her senses.

A tussle of pink could be seen down the hallway as Luka peered at the tealette's flowing locks drape over the side of the couch; the tangled mess making an agonized groan. With an eyebrow raised, Luka finished her 'wake-up' routine and turned off the sink, taking a towel and talking from the door as she multitasked, "Are you okay, sweetie? Are you still tired? We had rested for a quite a while already…" A raised eyebrow carefully watched the lethargic figure, worry lining the features.

A muffled murmur was all that was mustered, though a tell-tale rustle eventually reached the pinkette's ears and Miku responded proper, "No, it's not that… I'm not exactly tired. I'm… hungry." A pause and the younger woman looked up at her ceiling poignantly, as if the declaration of her hunger was something to be surprised at. She shook her head slightly and winced, remembering what she was about to complain about, "But more than that, I have a headache. It's killing me, I'm nearly dead. I might already be dead. Am I a zombie, Luka?" A slow turn around in her couch and Miku gave her best dramatic puppy eyes towards Luka, emphasizing her plea; continuing only when she realized the pinkette gave nothing but a slightly wary but still deadpan expression to her, "I've never had the feeling of molten drills skidding across my skull and brain before. It's rather painful, but it's so dull that I can still somewhat function." A nod, another wince. She should probably stop moving her head. A sigh. "I think I need painkillers."

With the last statement, Luka quickly made her way down the hallway in a controlled haste that took Miku by surprise; the tealette ignoring the jabbing pain in her head for a moment to peek above the couch; slightly amused by how quickly Luka moved back and forth from the bedroom, to the bathroom, to the kitchen, down the hallway back to the bedroom and back to the kitchen again; seemingly rustling through something or grabbing something whenever she entered or exited a room.

A final trip to the kitchen was the final stretch for the mini-speedwalking session from Megurine Luka; with a few small containers in hand and a glass of water in the other, the pinkette made the coffee table in front of Miku her finish line, "Here. " Keeping up her swiftness, Luka pressed the back of her hand gently on the tealette's forehead, being careful not to touch the wound just beyond the bangs in fear of irritating it, "You have a slight fever, dear. I was wondering why you were so reluctant to get up." The noise of clicking containers filled the room as the caps were untwisted off the containers.

Miku blinked, a bit amazed at the woman's quick motions and words. A fever? Well, that'd explain why all she wanted to do was sleep, but that wasn't her concern. She barely felt it; it was the migraine that was seemingly powered by a thousand needles that ailed her in this moment, "I don't care about the fever, Luka" she whined, burying her head carefully onto her couch, "I feel like my brain just internally recreated the big bang. I'd much rather get rid of this migraine more than the fever."

Megurine Luka didn't flinch at the slightest from her tasks, but fully heard the tealette's gripes; she continued to get the medication from the containers, neatly closing all the caps after all the pills were retrieved. In a calm voice, she simply explained, "Your body is overworked. After a serious injury or any kind of physical or even mental exhaustion, really; your body will force itself to rest. The most common explanation for a fever is an infection, whether it was obtained from a wound or another source. It might have been from the accident, it might be from something completely different. Since your wounds are healing fine, I think it's something internal, sweetie. Your immune system has got to be weakened due to all that you've been through. Or it could just be that you're too exhausted after all these ordeals," She gathered the pills in her hand and grabbed the glass of water, sitting carefully next to the sunken diva, "When you have an infection, your body works its hardest to fight it off. This is why you're so tired, and why you're feverish. The higher temperature helps kill it off. If it's something else, like simple exhaustion, your body will become feverish as a panic response, since when you're exhausted, your immune system is not at its normal functioning level. As I said, the higher temperature helps kill off what the immune system normally would." Luka gave the girl a caring look, nudging the glass of water to her, "Both cases also cause a headache. However, for that, I'm just going to guess it's because of the trauma… or both. Many factors add up to it really, but the fact is that it hurts." Another look at the shorter idol, "So drink these. These are your prescription medications anyways; it's the same stuff they were giving you at the hospital. "

The aching girl had slowly shifted her gaze onto the composed pinkette, a bit overwhelmed by the lengthy explanations that was given to her. A couple blinks and she acknowledged in her own mind that what had been said was true; and that frankly, she didn't really care what the cause was at that very instant. If the medication that Luka had in her hand would make her less miserable, she would gladly take it. Though she had to admit, knowing that it was the same medications as the ones she was taking in the hospital almost instantly made her better; a placebo effect of sorts, as she remembered not suffering through such agony in the sterilized facility. "I… uh." She blinked again, but hastily took the pills and glass of water from Luka, quickly dosing herself before washing it down with the cold liquid. A clink hit the table as Miku set her glass down, completely empty. She scrunched her eyes together and shook her head slightly, feeling somewhat refreshed, "I didn't know you were so well-versed in fevers and migraines, Luka." The smaller girl shifted her form on the couch, moving her long locks out of the way before she comfortably sunk back into the fabric, trying to stay composed, waiting for the pharmaceuticals to kick in, though she knew the effects would not be instantaneous. "But I'm glad; that you're here and that you know all that, and that you take care of me." She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and enjoying the soft fabric underneath her.

A creeping heat made its way to the cheeks; this time on the older girl's face, and although she maintained her ever-perfect composure, Luka was glad Miku had decided to rest her eyes, for the sight to behold was a peculiar one.

Why did that sentence make her burn up like so?

Luka felt as if she was the one getting a fever now; though she knew it would pass soon enough. A slight tinge of embarrassment, was it? Or being flustered, actually. Ignoring the offhanded compliment on her extensive knowledge—though, really, she was only so well versed due to the fact that she had constantly pestered the nurses that cared for Miku while she was in the hospital about the medicines and what they did and what caused what—she knew being close to Miku would bring about such situations on her, but she was here to take care of the younger diva; there was no need to be so… so… _silly_ now.

Goodness, why wouldn't her heartbeat normalize itself?

She stood, feeling a bit of discomfort at her own charmed state. A quick idea burst forth, "Since you are already here… and it seems like you wouldn't want to move any time soon, why don't we watch the concert footage? I know you've been wanting to see it, you must be curious." A save. Megurine Luka was quite the quick thinker when it came to some situations. "I'll get you some breakfast too, how about that?"

Miku didn't move from her position and didn't even bother opening her eyes; she was still letting the sensation of the water calm her down and she had been visualizing in her mind the medicine in her body fighting off all the things that made her hurt as much as she had hurt earlier. Finally processing Luka's offer, she moved her head slightly to the side, eyes still closed and nodded in what she figured would be Luka's general direction in a silent agreement.

A stifled giggle rang through the silent apartment before light footsteps replaced them, once again going around the abode, rustling about to prepare a viable breakfast and to retrieve a certain concert DVD that had been the point of interest for a certain injured idol. "Just be glad you don't have allergies too," Luka sat carefully on the couch next to Miku once more, TV remote in hand, lowering the volume to a serene level as the menu-less rough compilation of the concert started playing through.

Hearing the faint cheer and mumblings of the crowd and the droning of the medley music of Project DIVA through the speakers, Miku finally convinced herself to move a bit and sat up in an appropriate position to view the TV and converse with her current companion, her head leaning slightly towards Luka's position. Long locks of teal draped all over the couch and onto the pinkette's leg; Miku un-noticing and Luka with unwavering composure despite the jump in her heart.

Goodness, she couldn't keep up like this.

Miku yawned lightly, giving a passing glance at her window, watching the pollen and flowers whirl by as she took in Luka's words. "I'm glad I don't have allergies either. If I sneeze or cough or put any kind of pressure on my head right now, I feel like I might just implode." A sigh and her eyes fleeted to the illuminated screen; the rough cuts of the footage switching between the stage view and the backstage. A blur of yellow caught her eye and her expression turned concerned yet playful, "The twins must be suffering right now. They always seem to have an adverse reaction to such a beautiful season. I hope they're managing, and that spring isn't too harsh on them this year."

The flutter of the foliage outside did not cease despite the tealette's words. The trees bloomed a majestic pink, colouring the world in a rosy hue. Where there was no pink; other plant-life still persisted—taking on the role of the cherries to cover the ground in wonderful colour.

Dancing colours of yellow or white could be found, the pollen being scattered from all over. Even the occasional red or orange could be seen floating in the air; and though the medley was indeed a sight to see, a certain golden pair did not have the pleasure of enjoying it.

Rather than enjoying the burst of life the new season had brought; they wallowed in their misery, their eyes too irritated and watery to actually focus on the scenery. Their throats itched, constantly scratchy; too hoarse to give effort to compliment the beauty.

"A…" A twitch. "Ah…." A scrunch of the nose. "Ah… aaah…" A shake of the head, and a sudden force, "AHCHOO-!" A ponytail shook as the boy sniffled. "Ugh… someone must be talking about me…"

Scrunching her nose, Kagamine Rin turned her body away from the teary eyed boy, shielding her precious stuffed bread away from the adverse effects of such allergies. "Turn your head away from me when you sneeze, please and thank you. And I don't think anyone would be thinking of you." Her voice dripped with sarcasm and venom; she was genuinely irritated.

Being the other half of the golden duo, Rin suffered in the same manner. However, instead of dealing with the allergies by herself, she opted to take the prescribed medication given to them to combat such effects. They rarely had any effect, which is why the Kagamines never bothered to take them too often; and since the season of wonderful pollen and allergens had just begun; neither had been in the habit of taking the pills daily.

Len had completely forgotten, and as such, suffered with scratchy sinuses and constantly irritated eyes.

Rin, though she was faring better with the help of the medication was suffering side effects… though nothing particularly… negative, as far as she was concerned. She had not been cripplingly drowsy, nor did she get any physical symptoms like a headache or a stomach ache. Her voice was clear and there wasn't a single itch that irritated her today. In fact, to her, the medication was her best friend; she was even well enough to sing! Though… as Len noticed, Rin was more irritable than usual. Acting like she usually was if she hadn't gotten enough sleep. The Kagamine girl was, unknowing to herself, cranky, due to the somewhat sedative effects of the allergy meds, though she didn't consciously feel it. The near subconscious tiredness was making her cranky, making her words sharper than usual; especially towards Len.

A playful frown graced the gold-haired boy's features regardless, knowing his sister's words were in jest, "It won't matter if I sneeze on your food anyways… we're twins, I think even our germs are identical!" With a puckered expression, Len dove for the piece of bread in his sister's hand.

A closed fist met a teary-eyed face. "I'll murder you." Rin glared, her fiery expression only interrupted by a cute, abrupt sneeze in the direction she had turned away from Len… where her once protected bread was positioned in her cute, little hands, exposed to the air that an apple scented girl was now breathing. The ribboned girl looked at her hands, meticulously inspecting her food in a span of an instant, wondering if it had been 'infected' or not. She looked at the sniffling form that had abruptly interrupted her threats against her brother. A quick scolding started to make its way around her head, but Rin reserved to a sigh, having a bit more sympathy for the peach haired Iroha than her brother. "Iroha, do you have allergies too?"

A sniffle and a shake of the head whipped the peach-haired girl's ponytail around, "Ah… no. My throat is just itchy… is all."

Len and Rin stared quietly for a moment, both wondering if they should point out that the apple-scented girl's symptoms were tell-tale signs of hay fever.

Iroha scrunched her eyebrows, eyeing Rin's lunch, "Do you not like yakisoba bread? You haven't eaten any of it and lunch time is almost over…"

Rin looked down, still not sure if she wanted to deem the food in her hands safe for consumption or not; a bit wary of the two people around her sneezing all over the place, "Ah… well, I'm okay. Did you want it?" The blonde girl looked at her lunch once more, then to the golden, albeit reddish and irritated eyes of her clubmate, eventually deciding for her and shoving the stuffed bread to Iroha's hands. "Oh, now that I think of it, did you want to go with us after school to talk to our manager? We need to tell Kuroi-san about Touhi and I don't think the story's too plausible without you… or rather, your phone, with your contacts present."

The amber eyes of the girl lit up, nonchalantly chewing through the given bread in a cat-like manner; her thoughts shuffling around in rhythm with every bite. "That's what I came up here to talk about. I called Miki this morning, since I figured I should try to find out what's going on, and I told her I'd call her later too." Her eyes darted around, watching the scenery fly by during the small break period in the first half of the classes; the petals of the wise, old cherry trees covering the visage of the landscape; then finally back to the two golden individuals in front of her, "She said she's hanging out with a… friend all day, but Touhi is around too, so he'll be available to talk. They're not really going anywhere, I think her… ah… friend, is just visiting for the day… or something like that." The cat-like girl's eyebrows scrunched up, giving a slight pouting expression as she took another piece of bread to her mouth and started chewing. "By the way, why are you both up here? If you both have allergies, shouldn't you try to avoid the… eh… well, nature in general?"

Rin gave off another blank stare; Len merely sneezed again. A sly smile started to tug at the corner of the twin girl's mouth. An otherwise clear expression that contrasted the suffering boy's antics in the background. A long, rosy ponytail swayed with a nod of the head, realizing the answer.

Ah, so it was like that.

Iroha finished off the last of the lunch she was given, opting to stretch out a bit in the midst of the beautiful day. She ignored the itchy throat and the slight pity she felt for the male Kagamine. "Well, anyways, I had planned on going with you two to begin with, I anticipated that my presence would be requested." A turn of the heel and Iroha was poised and back to her original mannerly self. A quick bow was given to the twin's direction giving a quick remark before she left down to the stairs, "Feel better, Len." The ponytailed boy gave a nod of thanks in her direction, sniffling and rubbing his nose as he did so. "I'll see you both after school. I better go back to the classroom now." Another graceful turn of the heel reminiscent of the fluid motions of a cat and the girl was gone.

Another miserable sounding sneeze resonated on the rooftops. The break was due to be over in several minutes and Rin was irrationally getting impatient with everything around her; her brother, her brother's allergies, her lack of food (though that was her own doing), school and how long it was taking, how long it would take to walk… amongst many other things; but most of all, she was annoyed at her own irritation. "Aaaahh! Okay, enough!" Rin raised her voice and surprised Len slightly. The boy was cleaning up around himself, still suffering from hay fever. "Let's go, Len. We're going to the nurse's office before we go back to class and we're getting you some allergy medication." The boy positioned himself as if to speak, "Shut up, let's go." Rin demanded. Len sighed, throwing away the rubbish he held to the bins and promptly followed his sister through the hallways.

The blonde duo would have to walk past their own classroom to get to their medical destination, which normally, in this state, would have annoyed the shorter Kagamine girl; but alas, this was Rin's way of apologizing to her brother. A mixed message of annoyance and irritation barely showed the original intent of apology and care that she had hoped to achieve with her actions, but Len eventually figured it out. He followed obediently, knowing there was no easy way to show outward appreciation of his sister's roundabout ways, but the duo contently walked the hallways, the faces of irritability and suffering showing as a façade of sorts. Being twins, they knew how each other thought, how they worked; and as such, there was no need for words between them.

Len stayed quiet, his thoughts lingering on this 'special' connection of sorts; putting pieces here and there and finally concluding that this is probably why Rin had such issues and misunderstandings with other people, especially those she showed a certain kind of _interest_ in. The boy navigated the path with his sister, eventually waiting patiently at the door of the school infirmary as his sister requested the pills to treat his hay fever as he pondered if he should bring up this observation with his sister, or with a particular bright-eyed, ponytailed singer that had managed to grab the girl's attentions.

The boy sniffled a bit again, glad to finally be inside, away from the allergens attacking and irritating his sinuses. A smooth, nearly subconscious move of his hands into his pockets made him more relaxed in the setting of the office, his gaze now on the window; watching the season through the comfort of a sterile room.

It really was pretty out there, wasn't it? Those with allergies were too preoccupied in their ailments to truly appreciate it as a mere passer-by.

The shorter girl proceeded with her task, talking to the brown haired, glasses clad nurse; eventually getting a gel pill that would relieve the many symptoms of the allergies that plagued her brother. The young professional was careful to tell Rin that he was only giving the medication because the school day was nearing to an end, and had mentioned something about making sure the twins get home quickly to rest after the day was over, but Rin paid the young man no heed. If she was doing fine on the medication that was given to her, then surely Len would be fine with the medication that was given out in her school's own offices. The ribbon-haired girl took the medication and a bottle of water, bowed quickly and left the office, dragging her brother to the hallway and giving him the items she had acquired. "Here, Len. This should make you feel better."

Len blinked, being torn away from his tranquil observations and fleeting thoughts. He peeked through the door, watching the short-haired man sigh and shake his head slightly in the office. Hadn't he been telling Rin something? Why did he seem so dejected? It was as if someone had completely ignored his existence. "Okay…? What did Mr. Hiyama say?"

Rin shook her head and gave a slight shrug, "Just stuff about the medicine. Making sure to rest and all that…" her words were fleeting and unconvincing, "You'll be fine, it's probably the same possible side effects as the medication I'm taking. And I'm fine."

The boy lowered his eyelids, about to retort about the slightly sharper attitude his twin had possessed today but decided to keep quiet once more. He quickly swallowed the pill and drank the water that was given to him; welcoming the soothing feel of the liquid through his inflamed and itchy throat. They were twins—Len figured he wouldn't suffer from any particularly bad side effects since Rin was fine; and if he became irate, at least he could control his temper and attitude a little bit better than his shorter counterpart.

The siblings turned back, making their way through the same path they had tread on just a few moments ago. They passed students rushing back towards their classrooms, some carrying last minute break purchases of small snacks and vending machine drinks; hoping they'd make it to the room before the teacher did—others carried books or notepads, coming from the direction of the library; presumably studying for the next subject. In comparison to the rushing student body, the twins were a calm entity, making their way down to the classroom they knew was reachable before penalty. Their own teacher liked to take it slow and smell the flowers too, after all. The pair's stomachs growled in near unison; their bodies complaining about the lack of nutrients for the day, but they supressed it; knowing full well that they were bound to get their meals soon enough.

Still, the minutes passed and certain bodily functions would not be satiated by merely ignoring it. Throughout the school grounds, many other students shared the same predicament; some choosing to be more vocal than others. Their attentions tried to be caught by other things, to be distracted by the sensory plethora around them only to fail in the end.

The stomachs growled endlessly; and though it was because the short break period had ended and the students long for the longer lunch hour to come at the school and the students were forced to pay attention rather than fulfill their nutritional needs, it was not limited to those in the grounds of education. Throughout the neighbourhood and into the span of the city and more; countless others wallowed in their deficiency, longing to consume something, _anything_ that would cure them of the noisy void complaining in their bodies.

Not too far from the school, sitting in a slightly darkened room, a different pair was going through the same feeling. Though some of their sensations were limited due to the quiet room and the lights being turned off; it only served to focus their ears and tastes to the annoying truth of hungry they both were.

So much for viewing that DVD already.

A dainty sigh filled the ears of the one remaining seated on the couch as the taller of the two stood and walked behind; her footsteps changing from a soft pat on the thick carpet, to a gentle tap on the linoleum of a kitchen.

A click. A bright, nearly blinding light filled both their retinas.

Squinting through the white void, Megurine Luka's vision adjusted to the sudden change. She walked towards the fridge, opening it to scan the items inside. "Let me just get us something to eat before we watch it… hum… Miku, what did you want eat?"

The teal haired girl kept her eyes closed, feeling faint from both the after-effects of her quickly dissipating headache from earlier and the lack of food she now had the sense to recognize. She heard the soft smack of her refrigerator opening and closing; thinking of what foods she might have seen when she was cleaning everything out the day she returned home, "Uhm… I don't have much to eat, I don't think… I don't remember seeing a lot." She raised her head slightly, staring at the black screen of her television; a DVD logo bouncing around as a screensaver. The girl's eyelids drooped down, feeling heavy and fatigued from her condition. "I don't want to go out for anything… and I don't want to bug you with cooking… Luka." She mumbled, barely letting the pink-haired girl hear her. She visualized her pantry in her mind, "I think cereal would be okay for now. Quick and filling enough… we'll worry about a proper meal later."

A tap of the foot made the floor resonate ever so slightly, sending the smallest tremor throughout the dark apartment. "Hummm…" Luka yawned. A cappuccino would have been quite nice, she thought; but considering the two had decided on watching the DVD footage, she decided to settle on utilizing the teal-haired girl's coffee maker; not wanting to make noise fumbling around, looking for an espresso maker or a French press or a pour over cup that she knew the currently resting diva possessed… just not in the most obvious places. Opening cupboards or looking through boxes would only take up time and she was hungry _now._ She started to fill the pot up with water, making sure not to get too much.

Wasted coffee was such a terrible thing.

The pink haired idol heard a shift of fabric in the direction away from the kitchen, to which she realized Miku had decided to make herself comfortable once more. Maybe the painkillers were kicking in and the girl needed more rest. A feeling of relief swept through her chest and she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding—seeing the tealette in a state of calm after all the tossing and complaining she had been doing earlier was a comforting thing. A small smile crept to her features as she poured water into the coffee maker, setting the now empty pot down on the black, heating plate at the base of the appliance. A few beeps and a moment later, the gurgling of the boiling water started to drone.

Luka had heard Miku's rather quiet suggestion of preparing cereal for a quick meal, but since the girl was now presumably napping; the pinkette started to take a couple ingredients out instead.

A quick wash of some rice, a click of a lever and the rice cooker had started to heat up; a pan on the stove and a few drops of cooking oil made the surface glisten. A cutting board and a knife sliced through a long vegetable, the slices so uniform one would think it was made by a machine.

As far as the pink idol was concerned, cereal was not good enough to be served for a breakfast meal. It worked as a quick snack of sorts, but she never really embraced the thought of a bowl of cereal to be a nutritious enough meal to get someone started for the day. And especially not for someone that was recovering.

Not for Miku.

The slight smoke coming from the pan signalled that it was hot enough to start cooking; Luka took the slices of the eggplant she had prepared and started to fry them, cooking them to a nice brown; letting the vegetable become limp from the oils and heat. She had not intended to cook this today, but she had seen the produce in the tealette's fridge and remembering her conversation with Gumi from the day before, she figured she might as well take her own advice and cook something with the purple vegetable as well… skipping the spicy part of her advice, that is.

The coffee she had prepared had finished brewing, and as the eggplants cooked, she prepared a cup for herself, welcoming the warmth of the liquid into her body. As much as she would have preferred a different brewing method, she did find the hot plate of the coffee maker extremely useful—infinite hot coffee was something she welcomed any time. Despite it being spring, it was still quite cold out. Perfect weather for hot drinks, she figured.

The first batch of the purple vegetable did not take too long to cook and brown to a proper crisp. Making these wouldn't take too long. The pinkette skilfully took a pair of chopsticks and put the cooked eggplant slices on a clean plate, deciding to turn the stove off for now. She looked behind her, observing what she could of Miku's resting form on the couch. Luka smiled, taking a washcloth to clean the kitchen area of any oil splatters or other spills.

Though the teal-eyed pinkette found it a waste of a day to lie around sleeping; she knew Miku was exhausted. The fever was unexpected and concerning for the taller idol; she had thought that Miku was in a straight line to recovery—but she figured the reason she was there in the first place was because that was an unrealistic way to look at things. Unexpected things will happen, and when they do, it was her that was going to be the one to remedy it. Megurine Luka smiled, satisfied at herself and her duties.

Miku had started to take on the slow, relaxed breathing pattern of someone in a good rest made Luka want to sit down next to the tealette and pet her hair softly to help soothe the young diva into a calmer rest; but she held back and decided to let her be.

Luka looked around the apartment, looking at what she could do in the time that Miku slept. Putting her hands on her hips and shrugging at nothing in particular, she decided to simply tidy up and clean. Miku was not an untidy person; in fact, the young woman was actually very neat, more than the average student and singer anyways—and she was not gone for too long either; but still, dust had settled on surfaces and Luka still found things that could be organized better. A dusting here, a mop there, reorganizing various books and CDs, movies, games… Luka had taken some time to look at a few of Miku's possessions; finding it interesting that the young idol had so much manga. It was common for someone her age, but the content in some of them were impressive to Luka; some dabbling into philosophy or psychology—and amongst all the manga she found other books; literature from both western and eastern authors. The mentioned 'Kokoro' had been amongst the titles, but she smiled when she saw others like the classic 'Ningen Shikkaku' and 'Umibe no Kafuka', obviously read a few times, judging from the condition of the books themselves.

Though it was a complete coincidence; she found it amusing and endearing to get to know Miku in a different way. It felt a bit like intrusion of privacy, but she was sure it was something the tealette would have answered if she was asked anyways. Luka had been over Miku's apartment many times indeed; and a lot of those times, alone, waiting for the twin-tailed girl to arrive home, but she never peeked around or touched too much of the young woman's possessions; not really thinking too much on it. She knew Miku wouldn't mind anyways.

A couple hours were spent like this, and by the time one in the afternoon had decided to roll out and let two o'clock in, Luka had managed to transform the apartment from neat and tidy to perfect and spotless. She smiled proudly at her work and went for the kitchen once more; washing her hands before pouring herself another cup of coffee. A well-deserved award for herself; she nodded.

Luka sipped at the coffee slowly, enjoying the subtle aroma of the coffee. Miku should be waking up soon, she figured. She had observed that the tealette usually took between two to three hours to nap when she was exhausted or just sleepy in general.

Pink locks of hair swayed with the turn of the heel. A soft clang of metalware on the stove. A quick turn of the dial and the pan started to heat once more; Luka took a bit of oil and let it coat the pan, leaving it be to heat up. She walked towards the fridge, a soft smack was heard when she opened the door, taking the vegetables she had just cut up a few hours ago back onto the kitchen counter. The oil had started to dance and the teal-adorned fingers of Luka skilfully put the slices of vegetable on the pan; using a small pan cover to shield herself and the kitchen from stray sprinkles of hot oil. The excitement of the cooking eventually calmed down and Luka took the opportunity to keep sipping at her delicious mug of caffeine.

A change in the sizzle of the oil alerted Luka to check on her cooking, taking out the batch that had just finished and putting in the rest that she had cut up. A fierce crackle and a bit of splattering from the oil was heard. A lengthy shuffle of cloth made Luka look away from the kitchen and onto the couch; her smaller companion had sat up enough to observe her.

"What are you making?" A rub of the eyes that Luka couldn't help but find adorable, "Did you find the cereal?" Teal locks draped over her face, sticking in awkward placements from pressing against the furniture.

Luka took another sip from her cup of coffee, smiling slightly at the groggy voice that poised questions at her, "I found the cereal, yes." Another sip. Another smile. "But I figure I'd make something with a bit more substance than sugary flakes, dear." A sight of white steam caught her peripheral, her mind processing that the rice was nearly done, "So I made some rice and fried up some eggplant." A slightly teasing glance. "I apologize for the lack of green onions with this meal."

Miku blinked slowly, not completely processing that Luka had been talking in jest, "Ah, don't worry about it, it's not like I _need_ green onions with every meal…" A yawn and a stare off into the ceiling, Miku's eyes remained half-closed as she pondered her own response; letting the sounds of the kitchen drift in the background. A click was heard, signifying the rice had been done cooking. "…I don't _think_ I need green onions with every meal anyways. Though it'd be nice…"

Luka supressed a small giggle as she heard the tealette's spoken thoughts. She would have joked around a bit more about it, but since she was the same way with her preference of her beloved tuna in the meals she ate, she figured she'd just let herself enjoy the humour. "Everything's almost done, just give me a moment or two and we can finally watch that concert, alright dear?"

Miku gave a nod, positioning herself to a more comfortable position on the couch. A glimpse of the clock surprised her—did she do a time leap? What had happened to the past few hours? Surely she hadn't been napping for that long… had she? Well… she figured she could. Somehow, the medicine had made her tired; or her ailments made her tired. Either way, there was really no way to get back the hours she had slept. Her eyes followed the logo on the screen as it bounced around and her hand played around with her bangs, occasionally going over where her wound was. She was careful not to irritate it or scratch it; it was just a weird sensation for her to tap it slightly—knowing that what seemed like such a small injury at that moment had somehow caused her so many issues in her waking life. How fragile the human brain was, to be able to lose memory at the slightest impact; yet she also found herself fascinated at the fact that such a small mass could hold so many precious things in the first place.

How strange it was to have so many feelings—so many thoughts. It felt like a spiral, a maze, a never-ending place where different things existed, radically different and dizzying—going through such things at what seemed like at the speed of light; though somehow still being able to hold sense of it all as if it was going as slow as someone needed it to be and how it held the moments it stored special. A fragile place where things could be lost in an instant; yet also an infinitely admirable thing for it to be able to regain things thought to be forever gone; or to hold things dear forever, whether it knew it or not.

A few clinks very tell-tale of china and silverware on the coffee table in front of her interrupted her thoughts on the capabilities of the human brain. A weight on the spot of the couch just next to her shifted her, making her more aware of her surroundings. The white steam slowly rose up from the bowl; holding a significant amount of rice, stained with the slightest bit of what she could tell was soy sauce and sprinkled with colourful seasoning. On the side, she saw a plate of neatly arranged slices of fried eggplant, and a pair of chopsticks sat just next to the bowl. A similar dish accompanied hers, complete with chopsticks and two cups of coffee; nearly perfectly symmetrical dishes for both women.

Impressive. And slightly curious; was Luka always this neat?

As if she knew the shorter idol had been wondering about her, Luka spoke up, "Go ahead and eat, sweetie, I'll start the concert now." A small bead of sweat ran down her temples and she wasn't entirely sure if it was from the heat of the coffee she had continued to consume or from the anxiety of wondering if Miku would find the dish to her tastes. She hadn't tasted it yet herself, and it was the first time she actually cooked a meal entirely by herself. With everything else she made, she had the help and tutoring of someone else—or at the very least, the vast ocean of information that was the internet for her to endlessly reference over and over and over again. Luka might have not been too good with cooking many things quite yet, but she was indeed a tad bit of a perfectionist and double, triple… checking things, multiple times was something she was very adept at.

Slightly tremorous fingers picked up the DVD remote, the other hand putting down the mostly empty cup of coffee onto a saucer on the table. A quick press of the play button and the pinkette neatly put the remote back down, nearly perfectly parallel to the edge of the surface. She sat back, relaxed in posture but rather alert to what she observed in her peripheral.

The sudden boom of a bass line from Project DIVA startled both women; the DVD had started from where they left off and it was now that they realized that it had definitely been a rough cut; considering the audio that played through had not been properly levelled. They sat through a few moments of various gears being tuned; the quietest melodies and the loudest feedbacks. The video itself showed nothing of interest so far, it was just an overview of the venue as it started to populate—lights flickering on and off every now and again, spanning the stage in its projected movements.

Miku held her bowl of rice still in front of her, staying still in the same position she had been in from the initial boom of the footage. "So… how rough exactly is this edit…? It doesn't seem like… much." The smaller girl picked up her chopsticks, grabbing a few slices of fried eggplant and putting it on the top of her rice, like second nature.

Luka turned her head slightly, trying to span out the date of the concert to the date the footage was known to be in Takanashi's possession, "Let's see… they haven't had much time to edit it… so I'm guessing it's just the first cuts, where they're just putting the scenes and angles they want together… the audio isn't mastered yet, so I don't think this is the track they'll actually be using…" she winced as another screech of feedback came through the speakers before finally seemingly levelling down to the appropriate level; the medley of the Project DIVA playing as a placeholder. "Ah… it should be starting soon."

The teal haired girl sat up slightly, taking a clump of the rice and chewing slowly, feeling the sideward stare of the other girl next to her. ´_Why is she looking this way…'_ Another quick motion of her chopsticks brought a piece fried eggplant to her mouth. She raised her eyebrows slightly, chewing all the same. _'Oh. Not bad. A bit bitter… could use a bit of seasoning… but this is good.'_ The tealette repeated her actions, seemingly content with the meal that was prepared.

Luka thought otherwise. She had seen the temporary lapse in the serenity of Miku's expressions. She had _seen_ her eyebrows lift in a curious manner. Oh gosh. Oh goodness. It was terrible, wasn't it? She had never cooked eggplant so simply like so before; she must have messed it up. The pinkette bit her bottom lip, consciously willing herself not to pout. Knowing Miku, she would be too nice to say anything about the taste of a meal if it was something negative… the girl was entirely too nice.

A sulking figure occupied the couch, while the other contentedly ate, happy to have satiated the loud growling in her stomach. The TV flickered, finally showing a scene different from the overview of the crowd. It panned on the roof, showing off the lights and slowly descended back to the audience as a telling silence rang throughout, the crowd cheering. A high pitched, yet calm and soothing voice started to sing—The First Melody.

The Hatsune girl freezed. The food was forgotten for a moment; the sound of her own voice coming from the TV was a bit of a shock… of sorts. It didn't completely process in her mind at that moment that she had _in fact_, performed in front of such a huge audience; and that she barely remembered any of it. She let out a heavy breath, something along the lines of anticipation. "Ah… so it's started now. Finally." A few blinks cleared her thoughts and view, snapping out of her slight stupor. She continued to eat, intently watching the screen as it panned the venue, humming along when she could, "I remember this slightly… I think. Just a bit. I don't see anyone on stage though?"

The pink haired girl smiled, pushing the thoughts of how horrible her cooking could be to the back of her mind. Miku seemed content enough with eating what was there, perhaps she should try her own dish before she made such a harsh judgement on herself. "Ah… well, it's just the intro, dear. You were poised to go, but everyone else was still scrambling around backstage. There was a lot of nerves going back and forth and you were the only relatively calm one. You really took control of the stage once you were up to perform." Luka took the bowl from the table, chopsticks in the other hand; carefully lifting a clump of rice and a bit of eggplant.

A bite.

Ah.

So it wasn't that bad after all.

It was pretty good, actually.

The pinkette mentally scolded herself for being so harsh on her own abilities, all the while complimenting herself on a job well done, "You can't see any of the panic going on with the managers or with the twins though, you're technically already on stage… even if you don't see it here."

Miku squinted her eyes at the screen; as if the futile action would somehow clear up the stage. "I see the band, but I don't see anyone else… I don't see me." The somber melody stopped and the tealette let out an "Ah-", followed by an immediate "Aa…" after realizing the next song was the promoter, Project DIVA's tune instead of an actual song. "Well, there's certainly a lot of tension, having me be on stage, yet not…" She continued on the consumption of her meal, waiting for herself to come on stage.

A smile on the other girl hinted at amusement; Luka was once again pleased to see the same things in Miku's personality, despite the amnesia. Forgotten memories did not mean forgotten personality; and it delighted her. The same impatience Miku showed now was the same impatience the teal diva showed on the day of the show. _'What in heaven's name was I so worried about…'_ A sigh escaped from her thoughts and out into the observable world.

The twin-tailed girl shot a glimpse at Luka, taking the sigh in the worst scenario possible. Impatience was a sometimes annoying thing, and the girl could only curl up a bit more on her side of the couch and hope the pinkette was not irritated at her. She closed her eyes and composed herself; even now, she barely knew how they interacted, but she assumed still, "This is a bit long, where is everyone else? Is it just me at first or is there an introd—ah."

"_Sekaaaa—iii de…"_

Interrupted by her own singing; the illuminated figure of Hatsune Miku seemingly popped out of the ground and right onto the stage; taking it as her own immediately with her now world famous "World Is Mine".

"Quite the entrance, right? You only settled for the long introduction after weeks of arguing with Project DIVA staff and Kuroi-san about your actual appearance. It was a good choice… look at the crowd." Luka grabbed her coffee cup once more and got comfortable in her position; now less nervous about the food and watching the concert altogether. Really, what was she so worried about? Seeing the girl next to her so curious and excited was really amusing . Nothing to be scared of.

"Waah…" A nod of the head made teal locks bounce around, the girl's eyes shining with interest. The performance captivated her; it was a bit strange watching herself perform, but even she had to compliment herself, "We must have rehearsed a billion times… everything's perfect."

The aroma of caffeine wafted delicately around the viewers; taking on the ambiance around them, "Every week day, 6 hours, choreography alone. Any other free time was spent practicing… any _other_ free time was spent as usual, finding new songs and recording… all your idea." Luka smiled, remembering the exhausted looks of the twins, "None of us really got the idea of how much of a workaholic you were until you enforced that schedule for the concert, Miku."

The teal hair girl's face fell, the imagined exhaustion seeming to get to her all at once, "I guess… that sounds like me. I get pretty crazy for big events…" A sigh was let out as Miku copied Luka's pose; cradling the coffee mug in her hand and getting comfortable on the couch.

The songs reached the ears of those who could listen, the unmastered track perking up their attentions every now and again. The screen flickered the scene; the ocean of light sticks and paraphernalia, the illuminated stage with the ever present band; the world's #1 idol on stage, dancing and singing, captivating everyone.

A few songs passed and Miku felt a strange sense of familiarity, knowing some songs, not knowing others… seeing herself perform such songs that she could not remember brought about an unusual feeling, as if an imposter had taken her form; yet the lingering memories and her humming along, despite not really knowing the song as far as her conscious mind was concerned grounded her; reminding herself that she wasn't crazy, and that it was indeed her on that stage, performing those currently foreign lyrics.

A very small break in the performance timed up well with Luka's pace of drinking; as the crowd grew eager over the silence, she sat up and set her empty coffee cup back on table, neatly turning the handle away from the corners to prevent it from being accidentally knocked over.

Teal eyes next to her merely observed; watching the pinkette go about her motions, a bit curious as to why she had decided to stay sitting up, grabbing a pillow… and Miku could have sworn an almost eager expression flashed across her companion's face. Her eyebrows rose, about to inquire; yet once again, she was cut off by her own, cheery voice sounding out through the speakers.

"_Yaa—ho~"_

"Yaa—ho?" Miku blinked, her inquisitive repetition matching the crowd's reply. Luka hid her smile. A strange, striped ball appeared on the stage on the screen. "Dear Cocoa Girls…? Okay?" Another blink.

A springy sound effect synced with the bouncing of the striped ball. _"Yaa—ho~"_ The cheer of the crowd responded back.

Miku tilted her head like a curious puppy, eyeing the stripes on the sphere familiarly. A sway of pink hair on the other side of the couch made her eyes dart for a moment, taking note that Luka had turned slightly away from the screen. Strange.

Another _"Yaa—ho~" _came from the speakers; and the crowd once again replied fervently.

A flash of smoke. A figure silhouetted in the vapours; posing as an energetic drum line began, clearing the smoke away and the song began with yet another _"Yaa—ho~"_

Miku watched agape, finally seeing herself perform; the stripes now finally forming the perfect image in her mind—it was her bikini. An unbelieving expression panned from the screen and onto the other diva next to the injured girl.

Luka kept her head turned to the side, her hands covering what would be a teasing smile. A chuckle threatened to escape her figure.

"Wha… wha-… w-whaaaaat, how?! Why am I… what!" The nearest pillow was grabbed, and Miku buried her burning face into it, mumbling incoherencies.

Luka stifled a giggle and sat up, trying to calm the girl as the song and Miku's unforgettable performance played on the screen, "You had various outfits… management really wanted to try and impress the crowd with some new technology. Fast switching was one of them." The pinkette grabbed the pillow, gently pulling it down to look at Miku's shy eyes.

A sly smile crept to the pinkette's face… oh, that was _definitely_ the expression she loved to tease. Her eyes seemingly smiled along with her. "Just wait. You'll see."

Teal eyes looked up from the pillow, curiosity getting to the best of her embarrassment. It was impressive, really. As much as she had wondered how she managed to get the courage to pull off such a stunt, she was still impressed with how well she managed to handle it. Perfect choreography, perfect pitch, perfect smiles. Miku figured that she had just gotten herself into the mindset of a performance and eventually didn't care about what she was wearing. "I can't imagine agreeing to those outfits so easily…"

The song played on, Miku's lively presence stayed consistent on the stage.

"You didn't agree so easily, no." Luka glanced at the young diva that kept her face half buried in a pillow, "But management really pushed for it, Crypton's heavily invested in new tech, you know that; and to show off and have a bigger, more impressive performance… well, they kept on pressing for it and eventually you agreed. You were embarrassed and hesitant, but you did agree that it would cause a bit more applause if it were done."

Miku lowered her eyelids. That's exactly what she was thinking just before Luka had gone on her explanation. She sighed, closing her eyes, "I guess… anything for the performance. It's not that bad once you get over the shock." A quick glance to her left made her squint her eyes, "Did you have to do anything like this?"

A slightly guilty smile graced Luka's features as she answered, "…Nope, not really." An internal sigh of relief; she wasn't sure she could handle such a show. "I didn't have many songs, really. The ones I performed didn't call for costume change."

Miku pouted and directed her attention back to the screen, mumbling just under her breath, "Too bad, I would have liked to see that…"

Luka shyly looked away, also directing her attention towards the screen. The embarrassment of the thought of performing like Miku had; the comment that had been intended for her had she had done so… a jumble of reactions and thoughts in her head that she couldn't organize. Her eyes darted around the screen, not able to pick a place to focus on. The pinkette had decided to listen instead; the songs went on and filled her thoughts effortlessly.

The two sat in observing silence, one engulfed in the performance; the other lost in thought.

A song of longing, acceptance, reminiscence. Days past.

A song of a secret; fitting of the blooming and change just outside the building. A song fitting for spring. A self-realization and a decision to wait.

Luka grimaced just slightly; with her eyebrows raised, she looked at the ceiling briefly. Is this a joke? She definitely put herself into this situation. And she most definitely was reading too much into it. These songs, sung by none other than the other observer that sat next to her… how was she finding these so relevant? She shouldn't be thinking these were directed at her.

Nearly uncomfortably close to her sat the cause of all this anxiety. Why it grew by the second, Luka didn't know. The rush of emotions and thoughts were baffling. It was like she had drank too much caffeine (which she probably did) and her body didn't know what to make of it.

This disposition did not go unnoticed by Miku, though her reaction was more of concern rather than curiosity or speculation. The tealette opened her mouth to ask Luka if she was okay, but was cut off once again by the audio of her performance.

_"Sha-ba-da-ba ba-ba-ba-ra"_

"Oh, Miracle Paint." The Hatsune girl flicked her bangs away from her eyes and watched herself perform one of her favourite songs to sing, "Oh… another outfit change?" She looked at Luka.

The pinkette snapped her attentions to Miku once the question was prompted; though it was more of a statement rather than an inquiry… "Ah, yes. Actually, this part was the biggest highlight as far as the quick-changes go… it's a medley." An amused smile managed to find its way to the anxious Luka's features, "Really quite impressive."

"Hummm…" Miku furrowed her brows and brought her legs up on the couch and to herself. Though she was wary of what other costumes she might have performed in (and how embarrassing she would find it now), her teal eyes kept their focus on the illuminated screen.

The songs passed by quickly; as did the costumes. Luka did say it was a medley and the tealette was relieved to find that the costumes were not any worse than the bikini outfit she had so been shocked at. Then again, she couldn't really think of anything else that would have been more embarrassing than that. Lingerie maybe… Miku shuddered and blushed at the thought. Amongst the mini tuxedo, a strange magician outfit, a pirate outfit, a sort of kitten outfit, a pink dress, a black and white dress, and the back to the tux; the diva really found no issues with them. What piqued her interest more now was how Crypton managed to pull of such fast costume changing… and at times such drastic changes to herself; for one song she saw herself with extremely short hair and was shocked for a moment. She'd have to ask Takanashi or someone else about that some other time. "That wasn't so bad after all." She slumped back into the soft couch and tried not to pay heed to the risqué lyrics of 'Romeo to Cinderella' that was now sounding through the speakers.

Luka shifted her weight onto the arm rest on her side of the couch and looked at her companion, "It wans't, no." Miku could have sworn there was a tinge of disappointment in her voice. "Really, the most revealing thing was the swimsuit, I was most… impressed… by that one out of all of them."

Miku lowered her eyelids once more, a tinge of red hue creeping up to her face. The songs played on. "Impressed? In what sense?" She moved the pillow off her lap and to the side, right on top of Luka's legs and decided to lie down.

Whether it was because of the unexpected action or the sudden close proximity; Luka's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She blinked multiple times in an attempt to compose herself. Observing the girl on her, she was glad that Miku still stared at the screen instead of at her, "Well, yeah. Impressed… I wouldn't have the courage to go out and perform wearing something like that." Luka looked away and onto the screen; her mind making a conscious effort to calm her heart and her entire body down, even just a bit.

A length of silence settled between them once more as the songs transitioned to a fast-paced song Luka was more than familiar with. It was once of her favourites sung by the young tealette, though she had not told her of this fact. Luka closed her eyes and decided to simply listen to the chaos of the lyrics and tune that so closely resembled her own current thoughts and let it calm her.

"_Ii koto zukume no yume kara sameta, watashi no nounai kankyou wa…"_

_ "After I have woken up from my dream filled with nice and pleasant events…"_

Miku blinked at her own voice; the fast temp of the song and how fast she had sung caught her off guard. She only slightly remembered this song… and she was liking it with each word and note that passed by. The excess of information that passed by so melodically had put her in a trance.

A sigh, and a soft stroke of her hair pulled Miku's attention away from her performance for a quick second. It seemed that Luka had calmed and was mindlessly stroking her hair. She smiled, enjoying the small motions, feeling a warm little bubbling somewhere around her chest.

The performance went on to an instrumental break, catching both their attentions from the content disposition they had. Miku on screen started to introduce the band members and the two on the couch, shifted positions slightly during the break.

The pinkette had caught herself—her hand, in her unthinking motions but did not really pull away, thinking it might be suspicious and sudden of her to do so. "This part is also another medley."

Miku moved her head slightly from Luka's hand, "Another…? Do I change costumes here too?"

Luka let out a small amused laugh, "No, dear. This one's a small one, kind of like a half-show break. No costume changes, sadly." She let herself give in to the teasing smile of hers.

The tealette shifted slightly and looked up at Luka; forcing the pinkette to rest her hand on the shoulders of the diva on her legs, "I'd like to see you change into costumes. It'd be… interesting to see you like that."

Luka shook her head, a pink tinge on her cheeks blending in with her hair, "Ah, no… I… that's impossible. It can't be me, haha…" She waved her free hand and shook her head once more to confirm.

Miku smiled beneath her and said no more, instead turning back to the screen to watch.

The pinkette sighed internally, putting her hand to her forehead and letting the other rest on Miku's teal locks as she composed herself in her mind, _'Goodness… usually I'm the one teasing. At least she seems more comfortable now… but goodness. This is ridiculous, I shouldn't be… like this…´ _ another small sigh, this one more audible over the breaks in the songs in the medley. A small murmur of words that should have been kept in her thoughts escaped Luka's lips, "I want to hear a sad song."

"Hm?" Miku shifted slightly, not quite looking up but letting Luka know her attention was directed to her, "A sad song? Why?"

The sitting idol blinked and continued stroking the younger woman's hair—she didn't know _why_ she wanted to hear a sad song herself, "…I'm not sure. I just want to hear one." Pink hair swayed to the side and draped onto the arm rest. Maybe it was to change the pace to something calmer.

The music changed to a familiar intro. The medley was quick and the two recognized the tune immediately.

A small, stifled laugh came from the teal eyes and pink hair, "I forgot this was in the medley… well, I suppose I got my request."

Miku nodded and hummed along, knowing the song very well, even in her condition. It's one of the songs she always felt a strong connection with, and the one of the first some she ever really pushed for recording once she heard the demo.

The teal haired girl sat up and looked to her left with a relaxed posture.

Luka looked up and observed how immersed Miku already was in the song, despite it being just the intro. She herself had liked this song, the longing in the lyrics, the emotion that Miku managed to bring out was something she had admired and found slightly heart-wrenching. She looked at the girl to her side, the emotion in the ocean of her eyes nearly taking her breath away. The medley was roughly cut and the song did not start on the first verse; but somehow, Miku already figured the cues perfectly.

"_Ima nani shiteru no, nani shitai no, ore wa koko da…"_

_ "What are you doing now? What do you want to do? I'm right here…"_

"_Messeeji tsutaeru yo, aishiteru"_

_ "I will send this message: "I love you"."_

Hatsune Miku looked down and away.

Megurine Luka forgot how to breathe.

The smallest break in the song, and the television suddenly had the full attention of the two women occupying the apartment.

Teal hair swayed to the side and Miku continued with the next verse, effectively breaking some tension.

"_Setsunaku furitsumoru yuki no you ni mabushi sugite..."_

_ "Painfully lying like a thick blinding white snow…"_

Luka finally let in a breath as she remembered she needed to breathe to stay alive… or conscious at the very least. She ran her hand through her hair and kept her eyes half on the screen and half on the wall beyond it, "Who is the person that you like?"

The younger diva shifted her weight on the seat and played around with her bangs, near her injury as the rest of the song played out and went on to the next part of the medley, "Hum… well, I like you." She said plainly, smiling and still looking up.

More locks of pink hair draped onto the arm rest, some overflowing off the couch as Luka scooted herself away to the edge. Another run of her fingers went through the rosy locks and she looked at Miku, the small un-telling smile that she wore on her face slightly confusing the wreck of a woman that she was at the moment. "It… it doesn't have to be me."

The medley ended and only the ambience of the crowd played through the speakers.

Miku stared intently at the screen, half in anticipation, half in pondering. "Hum…"

Suddenly, a bright flash; and a familiar essence of pink appeared on the screen; an upbeat, jazzy ensemble now ringing through. A few moves of the hips and twirls to the beat of the song made Miku raise her eyebrows in what Luka could have sworn was somewhat lecherous, and a grin that teased the pink idol more than any other words Miku had said that day.

An amused expression in bright teal turned to look at an embarrassed Luka burying her face in her hands as Stardust Utopia played on. "But it is you." Miku kept her smile and looked at the screen implying at the pinkette's stage presence and responding at the same time—she kept her amused expression, bobbing her head slightly, enjoying Luka's performance on the recording.

Luka kept her face shyed away, more unbelieving now than embarrassed, "Oh my gosh. This _would_ happen to me." She heard Miku give a small laugh and she looked up at the end of her performance, "Goodness." A calm voice spoke and Luka sat up to help her composure, "That's not what I meant, dear. I—"

"_Hankei hachi-juu-go senchi ga kono te no todoku kyori"_

_ "An 85 centimeter radius is as far as my hands can reach"_

"—Oh my gosh." Luka blinked and slumped back to the couch. Of all the things, she had to bring up that question now; and of course she'd be cut off by her own performance, and _of course_ it'd have to be like… _this._ "Honestly."

Miku smiled brightly and leaned her elbows on her knees; genuinely amused and immersed in Luka's performance. To her, this was the first time she had seen Luka perform. The first song had been nice, and she was now seriously already a fan of the idol next to her. "What did you mean then?" Miku mindlessly asked; more immersed in the performance rather than the questions that had been between them just earlier.

"…_tomari kata wo wasureteita"_

_ "…I forgot how to stop."_

Luka's heart nearly stopped, anticipating the next part. She knew this all too well, she rehearsed it so much; she had loved it all… but Miku, this Miku, at this point, who knew nothing of her performances… she could barely figure out what to say for what she knew would eventually come.

"_Mawaru no nakama-tachi ga jibun yori umaku mawareru no wo"_

_ "My friends around me spun much better than myself"_

Miku sat up straight, suddenly; a huge grin on her face and her eyes bright, staring at the idol next to her.

""_Shikata nai" to hitokoto tsubuyaite akirameta furi wo shiteita"_

_ "So I muttered, "Oh well," and pretended to give up"_

The pinkette stared at the screen, her expression slightly unbelieving. Whoever was doing the cuts definitely liked to show off the choreography for this song. A raise of the eyebrows and she looked at the gleaming idol next to her.

"Whoa." Miku let out an amused laugh and smile with her brief expression. Luka smiled, unable to keep nervous at the tealette's enthusiasm. Miku looked back at the screen and back to Luka again, "Whoa—haha. Wow." Her knees shook slightly in excitement, "You—that—wow!" The tealette stared at the screen and watched the rest of the performance, waiting for a break to speak once more, "That's awesome. That choreography, you have it down so… so…" A bigger smile and a curious shift of eyebrows which didn't go unnoticed by the pinkette, "So perfectly! Did you have previous training before this?"

Luke flicked her bangs, slightly shy but her smile showed that she was more amused at Miku's reactions more than anything, "Not much, no… I did use to do dancing before I got contracted with Crypton, but most of the stuff for the concert was made then and there, I worked with the choreographers to figure out something that would fit the songs… and after that, I practiced and rehearsed it more than even you recommended."

Still staring in awe, Miku pointed at the screen, "So part of this choreo was your idea? And you know it by heart?"

Luka looked at the screen as Miku pointed.

"_Mawari no nakama-tachi ga jibun yori takaku mawareru kara"_

_ "My friends around me could spin so much higher than myself"_

"_Shita kara nagameru no wa kubi ga itai to suneta furi wo shiteita"_

_ "So I pretended to sulk when my neck grew sore from watching from below"_

The pink haired girl always found it appropriate that a song that sung a lot about spinning included a lot of spinning in the choreography… though her decision then might have embarrassed her a bit now.

Goodness. Even she couldn't stop looking at her own hips.

"Ah… well, yes. As I said, I practiced the choreography every day for months before the concert… I really wanted it to be perfect."

The tealette nodded, honestly impressed by the precision of the performance; even Luka's singing was consistent; which was hard to do on such a high energy choreography, "You are."

Luka tensed up once more.

Miku calmed and sat back down as the song ended. She almost wanted to cheer with the crowd, "That's awesome. I'm a fan." She looked to the pinkette and handed her the empty coffee cup she was drinking from earlier, "Can I have an autograph?"

Taking the cup from Miku's hand, Luka laughed and got up; grabbing the other empty dishes off the table, "You're being silly." She shook her head at Miku's starry-eyed expression and headed for the kitchen, turning on the sink as the next song played.

An upbeat intro filled the room as Luka's top song started to play, "I like this one already." Miku clutched her knees close, disregarding the dull pain that had been poking in her arm all day. "What's it called?"

The soft clinking of silverware and china sounded through the white noise of the running faucet, "Just Be Friends." Luka looked at the screen as her hands washed the dishes, _'Though I'd rather not be…'_ She caught herself and cleared her throat.

The tealette on the couch missed the slight detail and continued swaying to the beat, still thoroughly enjoying the song. "I want a shirt that says I'm your number one fan."

The pinkette couldn't help but laugh again, "Well, we don't have official merchandise that says that, but I'm sure you can find a fan-made shirt somewhere."

Miku looked at the crowd, through the ocean of waving glowsticks and managed to spot a few items that were definitely brought to the venue or created then and there. She even spotted a glowstick stalk of a leek. "That's probably true, but I want an official one! And it'll be just mine!" A slightly evil, but jestful laugh came from the tealette, "So then, I'll be the official number one fan." She grinned and looked at Luka from the couch; watching the taller idol put the dishes away on the drying rack.

The pinkette shook her head, "You're ridiculous, sweetie." She dried her hand on a towel, hearing the song end; knowing that the next one would be their highly-regarded duet. "I'm sure you could get someone to make one for you… I'm sure Kuroi-san would be more than up for the idea, in fact…" her eyelids lowered and a bead of sweat nearly fell from the thought, "If Crypton won't do it, it seems Gumi... ah, the one I was talking to on the phone earlier, she seems to have a whole lot of interests and hobbies, I'm sure shirt making is one of them." Luka put her hand to her hip and pondered for a moment.

A furrowed brow looked at Luka and the audio cut out. A swift pause of the footage by Miku. Luka snapped her attention to the other teal-eyed girl, "Ah? Don't want to watch any more?"

Miku stood up and walked towards where the other girl was standing, "Could you tell me about everyone else?"

The pinkette tilted her head and blinked, "Everyone else? You mean, the ones you don't remember?"

Teal eyes looked down to the floor, feigning ignorance and thought. Miku had really only wanted to know about a certain someone whose name kept popping up, "Yeah." A sudden smile looked up at Luka, "If they're as surprisingly awesome and talented as you are, I want to know all of them."

A slight step back and to the side, "You're giving me too much credit. But, okay… well, where to start then?" A shuffle of feet on the soft carpet towards the couch, sitting at where she had been minutes before.

Miku clutched her injured arm, walking to the couch and sat down, disregarding the paused screen and turned to Luka instead, "Anywhere, really. Off the top of your head… I know you, Meiko, Kaito, the twins… for the most part. People at Crypton… but barely the others. I only somewhat remember."

Luka nodded. It made sense that Miku would only remember those in the Crypton staff, "Well, the others, they are from a different company, which is why I imagine you don't remember them too well… there's only three of them, and there are other idols, of course, but the ones we know and spend time with are from a company called Internet Co." The squeak of the couch was audible as her feet shuffled onto the cushions, "There's Gakupo, Lily and Gumi." A quick flicker in the other's teal eyes at the mention of the names made Luka curious. "To be honest, we don't hang around them often enough, so it's understandable you don't remember… Gakupo and Lily mainly hang around Kaito and Meiko, but Gakupo likes to be friendly and knows everyone, he's apparently friends with the twins." She observed the tealette's attentive form, "Gumi…" a slight change in Miku's position made her smile internally. She had a feeling that maybe this was the case… "Gumi we had just met not too long before you got into the accident. She's Gakupo's cousin, just debuted. Not many of us know her too well… but she seems to like hanging around Lily, so since I know Lily quite a bit, she calls me sometimes to ask about what to say to her, or other advice…" She grinned, watching Miku's thoughts spin through the gears of what she had just saif, "Honestly though, usually it's Lily making the moves." She sighed and continued, "Lily mostly hangs around Meiko…" A nervous smile cracked through her explanation, "…and myself." A sigh now. "We have a bit of a… friendly war going on… it's a bit of a long story, but you're kind of involved in it."

Miku blinked at the break of pace in Luka's descriptions, "Eh…? Me? But I barely know Lily… I think? How am I involved?" Her fingers tapped against the cushion, showing intrigue.

A light and quick, nervous scratch on the cheek was all Luka could do, "Well… she likes to call you 'princess'. And to steal you… from… well, It actually has something to do with the song…" her eyes drifted to the screen, paused at what she figured was the second before both of them were to appear on stage. "…the duet."

Miku's attention showed in her head movements; mimicking a dog's side to side motions when it heard something strange and unidentifiable—after all, Luka's sentence just then didn't exactly make too much sense, "Princess…? I guess from 'World Is Mine'?" An answer came in the form of a nod and Miku's brain kept on trying to churn an explanation, "Stealing me? From… what?" She held back a grin that would have showed when she realized where her train of thought had been going, "Or from _who_, rather?"

A nervous, somewhat uncharacteristic laugh came from Luka and the pinkette tried to wave it away, "Well, I told you we were having a friendly war." The thumping of her heart was near audible and Luka felt it ridiculous. She grabbed the controller and unpaused the concert, "Ever since this… ever since magnet, there've been some… rumours and well, long story short about Lily; she's trying to steal you away from… me." The soft wave of the ocean gave way to a piano intro and into a encompassing melody as the screen showed both Miku and Luka on stage.

As expected, Miku's attentions swiftly shifted right onto the screen. It was amusing for Luka to watch the teal idol in such wonder of the performances she should have been so familiar with. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought Miku was becoming a fan of herself just by watching all the performances she had done on the screen—and Luka could only wonder if the memory loss had made a barrier between the performer Miku and the observer Miku. The tealette certainly wasn't acting like she was watching herself, anyways.

A twirl, a step, a reach that barely touched; two synchronized bodies that put Miku in a different kind of awe. She was completely captivated; her heart seemed to skip every other beat just as the intro melody played through so softly and into the confines of the room.

"Wh-…" Miku furrowed her brows. Her verse had started and the words seem to flow in her own veins. For some reason, blood started to flow into her upper body and she was unsure why. A keen observance of the screen carefully watched the synchronized movements of the two; perfectly complementing each other—telltale of the time and effort it must have taken to perfect both the song and the choreography to this point.

Luka stayed quiet. There was something different about Miku's silence now that had stuck a certain kind of anxiety within her. The furrowed brows over the teal orbs and the slight misarrangement of aqua that fell on her face had led Luka to somehow wondering if maybe Miku had somehow been upset by the performance that she was currently watching, "Miku…?"

A chill ran down the senses of the younger woman, Luka's voice filling her ears from both the verse that had started on the screen and to her left, hearing the small prompt. For a moment she felt herself starting to sweat from the brief spike of emotion. Try as she might, she could not keep her eyes off the screen, eyebrows still furrowed. Each cut away from the performance irritated her slightly; she wanted to watch the entirety of the performance alone. At the moment, she didn't care about the crowd, or the band. The need to isolate the two performing on screen filled her brain, and for the times that they did not appear; Miku flawlessly transitioned to a perfect image in her mind until it showed the duo once more.

The harmony of their voices came with the harmony of their movements; as if the two shared one consciousness. It impressed Miku, it scared her slightly; her brain rushing through assumptions and implications—but most of all, she felt surprised at a sense of miscommunication, a sense of deceit that made her head hurt with irritability. Sweaty palms fidgeted, her chest feeling a pull, a longing. It was a cluster of sudden emotion and needs that she was unfamiliar with; and for the first time in her recovery, she truly felt lost.

Not remembering certain things was one thing; but seeing something you should remember and overbearing weight of the feelings that came with it was a little too much for the teal haired girl.

The lyrics certainly weren't helping.

The refrain played, and both knew the song was at its end. The voices melded together and still, the two kept silent for that moment.

Miku's trance started to break and she shifted her weight onto her injured arm, forgetting about the dull pain it would cause; and fell to the couch as slowly as she could, only supported by her elbow. It was not in this moment that she wanted Luka to see how careless or forgetful she had been of her own body.

The pinkette had held out her arms in a reflex effort towards the sudden movement, "Ah… Miku? Are you okay?" She bit her lip, the anxiety still bustling in her.

The familiar tune of the piano played the song out and the screen faded to dark; only the murmuring ocean of the crowd could be heard through the unmastered audio.

In Luka's vision, the ocean of aqua strands moved one by one, as if her eyes had suddenly gotten hypersensitive, or if time had suddenly warped in that moment as Miku positioned herself to lay face up on the couch, soft locks touching her thighs.

Miku drew a long breath; the music had started to play again and she mentally noted that it was herself that was performing once more, but paid it no immediate attention. She looked up—Luka's obviously concerned face in her sight. She felt as if her heart was in her ear canals. "You never mentioned how perfect we were."

The pair of eyes above the young woman blinked, her hand holding her hair behind her ear, "Perfect…?" Luka tucked her hair in a fashion that she did not have to hold it to look down at Miku as they talked; her now free hand now moving to caress the soft strands that had already fallen on her leg and the fringe that only somewhat hid an injury. Her fingers trembled, but she would not have it seen. She had a sense of double-vision, but she would not let it be known. "In what sense? For the performance, you mean?"

Miku closed her eyes and her lips tugged up slightly in a content smile. She moved her head slightly more towards Luka's hand. "Mmhmm." She exhaled softly, effectively calming herself further and getting the mess of feelings that caught her off guard into an organized manner in her brain; she chose to relax and enjoy the soothing motions, "…I can see why rumours would start. I can tell how much we must have practiced that, I can tell that it was outside of the studio too." She opened her eyes slightly, observing the woman above her, whose warmth almost made her want to glow. A radical change of feelings in such a short time would have usually made Miku baffled—but this, this she enjoyed. "It's perfect. We are. It's not just a matter of learning the choreography… watching that performance, it's almost like you can tell how much time we spend together, how we interact with each other…" Miku paused for a second to swallow what felt like a lump in her throat. This is what she had been so curious to know ever since she had awoken in that sterile, white room, "…how close we are. We don't need words to communicate… with every step, it's like you knew what I wanted, and it's like I couldn't get away from you, even I wanted to try…"

Luka locked eyes with the warmth next to her; remembering all too well the last time teal had met teal in this way. Her hand had slowed and eventually stopped at rest on Miku's temple, just below the injury that had caused all this confusion. Her lips stayed pursed together; not unkindly, but rather in a wary smile; her mind suddenly blank at Miku's words—she felt like as if her heart was the one running full of thoughts now; and she was left unable to say anything.

The music drowned out again, and in the silence, Miku felt a certain decisiveness. The tealette looked at Luka and smiled, filled with honesty. She shifted slightly, turning her head to Luka's hand; her own hand clutching and pulling it gently—and without hesitation, she left a lingering kiss on the hand that had just been soothing her.

The pinkette drew a sharp breath in. The sudden sensation was almost like electric shock running through her body; coursing through her entire being and the quickening warmth engulfing her. Her eyes kept their focus on Miku; she was in awe at the younger idol's forwardness, but she wasn't displeased. She felt like a deer in headlights; staring, not knowing what to do. Usually, she'd be the one more forward; usually she'd be the one taking initiative, but she had been so careful with Miku—what she said, what she did, what she implied… she had never expected this, and to be caught off-guard when she was usually so calculating put her at an overheating mess.

The next song had started to play and still, neither paid heed to the soft melody.

Miku felt Luka's hand warm up significantly as she held it still, small nervous shakes reverberating through her own fingers. A slight caress of her cheek from Luka's thumb made her smile again, she let out a content exhale and moved her hand to the couch to sit herself up, staying close to the taller woman's side. She scooted herself closer, making note of how the air had cooled her neck from the slight sweat.

Luka kept her hand on the couch, her body shifted slightly to face Miku as she sat up. The close proximity had built up a noticeable heat between them. In her head, she could envision the hundreds of things she could have scolded herself for, but in the moment, she didn't want to think. The young woman that had been plaguing her thoughts for months on end was focused on her. How could she think?

A toss of the hair from side to side cleared Miku's view. She felt the tension grow between herself and this woman in front of her; one she had been so curious about, the one she knew had been being secretive.

The warmth spoke now; the two knew of what was to come.

They lingered still, their eyes locked, as if to read the other's mind—as if trying to feel for the moment that their emotions would synchronize.

On the screen, the song changed once more. The footage played through without an audience to pay attention.

Luka let out a breath she had been holding in and shifted her position on the couch towards Miku a bit more. She quirked her head to the side subconsciously and let her hand needlessly brush away the tealette's bangs to behind her ears. Her warm fingers moved in a long, drawn manner; giving a smile as she traced the jawline.

Miku leaned in to the soft touch and took it as a sign; sitting up on her knees slightly and closing the distance between their bodies; her chest pressed up against the shoulder and chest of the woman that drew her in so well. Her hand found itself on Luka's stomach; her ears perking up at the draw of breath the pink haired woman gave at the touch. She herself felt a sudden shyness at the contact.

Megurine Luka fought off the reaction to make a sound; she was sure she was an obvious shade of red at this point. Teal, hazy eyes made note of Miku's pause, a tell-tale sign that she was either being cautious or had become shy at what she was doing. Luka's senses were already spinning, her eyelids drooped down to a halfway intensity and now, she had found her reassurance in the Miku's actions—her initiative personality had made itself home in her instincts now and she wanted nothing more than to stop being cautious in this moment.

She knew better. Really, she did. But Megurine Luka would have none of those thoughts right now.

The rising tension was near dizzying; Miku wanted to fall in and drown in the sense of it. She leaned forward, head tilting to the side and leaning on Luka's shoulder, her lips barely touching the heated neck.

Luka couldn't help but a soft whimper escape; her hand reached up to rest gently on Miku's neck, tracing the jawline as she had done so earlier. The other idol must have taken it as active reassurance, for Luka felt the pressure on her neck increase.

Miku closed her eyes, the slightly salty taste of skin and the scent, the soft tingle from the slight touch of Luka's fingers, the seemingly gravitational attraction encompassing her entire being. The bewilderment, confusion, uncertainty from just some hours ago; the intrigue that she held for days—completely gone and satisfied just in this moment. If she could stay like this, immersed in this other woman she knew she was close to, she would have.

Though, going by her blind instinct and impulses, Luka had to move away. She saw a glimmer of confusion and what looked like a touch of hurt in the teal princesses' eyes. She smiled, and shook her head, as if telling the other woman it was alright, and closed her eyes, leaning in to close the distance between themselves; and both gave in to the overwhelming sensation of their lips together.

The pinkette's hand found itself on the other's hip, while Miku's stayed on Luka's stomach, gently stroking the skin at the woman's curves.

The pair savoured the sensation; taking in the situation they sat in, holding the tender kiss for longer than what they normally would have—longer than Luka would have. It was only after a little while that Luka started to deepen the kiss, sucking gently and biting down as soft as she could; finding herself very satisfied when she felt Miku reciprocate with a quick lick on her lips.

Oh, this was bad. What was she getting herself into?

Scolding herself now won't help. …would it?

Miku sat up on her knees, her hand resting on the arm rest, giving her more leverage over the pinkette who now sat beneath her. Miku had already lost her train of thought moments ago, she was now merely following her intuition; not that had been very clear. All Miku wanted was to drown herself in Luka. She positioned herself to cross a leg over the thigh of the blushing woman, her lips going directly for the exposed skin on Luka's neck. She kissed the area gently before licking, making Luka shiver. The tealette, amused, sucked softly at the skin she was at, biting softly as she pulled away.

Another shiver. The chills ran down and the heat countered it, creating electricity within her. Luka let her hands sit at the hem of Miku's shorts, her fingers barely touching skin. The moment had pulled her in and out of thought; her mind shuffled between memories of her apartment, their date and how things had escalated to right at this moment, it scolded her, telling her she shouldn't be doing this. Still, her body reacted, reciprocated and she liked it; but she knew that this was a dangerous game to play, especially in Miku's condition. A brush of Miku's thigh between hers gave way to a rush of sensation that made her supress a moan; effectively pulling her out of her desires and into a more sensible state of mind. She sat up, forcing the petite girl to sit up as well, stopping her affections on the skin. Luka put her palm against her face and shook her head, gaining a bit of composure. "Wait… I… we can't do this, Miku."

Miku kept a close distance, but did not continue. She was a bit confused, and looked somewhat ashamed that Luka felt a pang in her heart—if only she could explain it all. Miku blinked and lowered her eyes, "Why not…? You like it…"

The pink haired girl straightened her posture and ran her hand through her long hair, bringing it to the front, "Well… that's… not what I'm getting at." She avoided the statement, her eyes looking to the left and flicking her bangs; a tick for when she was anxious and had to avoid a subject, "This is dangerous, I have to be here to take care of you for a while… and if… things happen, it's…" She found herself at a loss of what to say; forgetting what her reasons for stopping were in anxiety.

Miku pursed her lips together, "It's what…?" She got off Luka's lap and sat next to her, still facing the pinkette, "Is this about the rumours?" her brows furrowed, she had just been piecing everything together today, before it all made sense in the throes of heat they shared, "You always avoid this subject… Luka." The tealette found it strange that saying the other teal-eyed idol's name still put a knot in her throat. "We both know now that we were pretty close… before the accident. Why have you been avoiding it? Why didn't you tell me?" She bit her lip, "How close were we, anyways? Were we… were we going out?"

The couch creaked as Luka sat at the edge of the couch, making her way to stand but pausing to answer after a bit of silence, "…Sort of… not really." She got up, making Miku follow her every movement, but the taller woman stopped after a few steps and turned back around to the one that had caused all this, "It's about the rumours, partially, yes." She stood with one leg locked, the other bent and her hand stable on the back of the couch, "We went out once, but I dressed up as someone else and it was only pretend." She squinted her eyes; that tug in her chest wasn't supposed to be there when she said that. "So it doesn't matter too much." A wary approach still persisted and the taller idol thought it best to wave herself off quickly.

Miku composed herself, flipping her hair away from the sweat on her neck, tussling her bangs back into place as she listened, "Ah… eh, what?" She blinked multiple times, repeating Luka's words over and over in her mind, "First of all, don't say it doesn't matter; second, that explanation is way too strange for you to try and get out of it so simply…" A sigh and she sat back down on the couch. "I don't know what you're trying to do, Luka… I can tell you're being careful, but you don't really have to with me… I'm sure you know that. But… just being around you these past few days, I can tell that you must have your reasons for doing so." She glanced at Luka's direction, giving a small smile, "I won't apologize for what I just did, because I can tell you wanted to continue." Miku internally grinned at the tinge of pink in Luka's cheeks, "And I'm getting really frustrated about all the things I don't know… the things I want to know. We're going to be around each other all the time, and I just want to know everything about myself, you, and us." She sighed and laid down on the couch, obscuring Luka from seeing her, she was eyeing her performance and the eventual fade into the crowd but not really paying much attention to the footage itself.

Luka fidgeted in her position. For the second time today, her resilience had been broken through. She knew not what to say back to Miku, nor did she have much of an explanation for herself; she knew she had one, but it would not come to her at the moment—she was too flustered, too much of a mess to think straight. She had wanted to apologize for the frustrations she had caused for the shorter teal-eyed idol, but found herself unable to speak again. Her cheeks just burned, her heart was beating at what felt like two-hundred kilometers per hour and her conscious thoughts were whirling around her head. Miku was understanding, and it was even more dangerous to her since it made her all the more endearing to her. Another leap of the heart and the warmth spread through her face, her ears feeling especially hot when she thought of what had just happened.

A soft sound told the apartment that someone had been making their way away from the living room and into the corridor. Miku sat up slightly; just enough to see over the couch and to see that Luka had gone towards the studio room. She sighed, and talked in a normal tone, not wanting to be too quiet nor overly loud.

"You're so selfish..."

Luka paused in front of the door, holding the handle and looking down at the hallway floor towards the television; Miku's eyes peering over the couch—she heard the small comment; and though she wanted to retort with the same, she thought it better, "I am."

Miku let her head rest against the couch, this time her world mumbled through the cushions. She wasn't expecting a response; and if anything, she wasn't expecting an agreement. "You're so unfair."

A click of the door, "I am." Luka bit the inside of her mouth as the door swung open and a flick of the light switch illuminated the studio room. The wooden floor still kept its shine and the instruments had exactly been where she left them the last time she was in the teal idol's apartment. She sighed and went towards the piano bench; sitting down and staring; not even opening the cover for the piano.

Luka's lips pursed together, her mind endlessly flashing images of Miku to her. She shook her head, thinking of all the times she had thought of the question _'Am I…'_, her mind thought. The realization shook her core, taking so much of her time; even just in thoughts… she knew it already. She probably knew it before. It was only now that she would acknowledge it. She leaned her elbow on the piano, her fingers caressing her forehead—there was no headache right now, but she knew it was going to come. Her body felt like it was three times heavier than usual, her movements felt sluggish and the pulse that coursed through her body felt like it had something in it that made her tremble with every beat. Words scattered in her mind; different mental iterations of herself scolding her for what she had already known. More than anything, she scolded herself now, for going away, separate from what she needed to face. Now it'd be harder for her to reconcile, difficult to approach and explain. An expression of frustration filled her features and she spoke harshly to herself.

"How did you let yourself fall in-love?"

Through the wall, down the hallway and still lying on the couch was Hatsune Miku, growing more and more frustrated by the second. She had been right after all—well, not that she knew exactly what she was right about. Something about the way Luka had been so meticulous about her actions and words around her had made her suspicious; the small nuances of the tasks performed; the air that settled between them in certain moments, the way she had talked to her all pointed to an affection Miku could tell was deeper than from just being co-workers or friends. From the beginning, the way she had felt though she did not remember Luka's identity already stabbed at her curiosity more than anything in the unfamiliar room she had awoken in. She sighed and rolled to her side, watching what seemed like another performance of hers ending. She saw herself say goodbye and disappear into static; the crowd cheering once more. Miku had wanted to watch the rest of the footage, but now she felt a sort of apathy towards the screen.

A melody on the piano rang out, and she almost recognized the tune. She furrowed her brows as the crowd cheered at the stage with no singer present; and then a loud cheer as sparkles guided Rin's appearance on the stage. The tealette smiled, feeling calmer with just the image of her best friend on the screen. The lyrics of 'Meltdown' flowed through to her ears and she felt serene at the young girl's gentle voice; a completely different image of how Rin actually was—not that Miku minded, Rin's multi-faced personality was something she had always found amusing rather than irritable or confusing; she could read her well—not as well as Len, of course, but well enough to know the implications that the ribboned girl really meant behind the words she spoke.

She could only wish to understand Luka so well.

Fingers tapped silently against the softness of the couch; her mind wandering around what she could do, and what she wanted to do. Two similar things that didn't quite match up. She watched Rin, so poised in her performances as the next song played through with a strong beat; the blonde's voice distorted with the song. Miku lowered her eyelids and enjoyed the song with a neutral face—her favourite word being sung about… she wondered about her own heart; how so much of it was clouded by her hazy recollections, how weird it was to not fully know her own feelings, how strange it was to only have the reactions but not know why. She shifted again and watched the next song start up in a muted intro. Len appeared suddenly behind Rin and Miku smiled once more; they didn't quite match up as well as herself and Luka in magnet, but they worked in their own ways; they still complemented each other very well, but she had to wonder if that was because they were twins and already shared a sense of unity.

Ah, she wished she could see them now… especially her blue eyed, white-ribboned best friend. Another perspective would have been nice… she liked the time she spent with Luka, but it wasn't until now that Miku realized she hadn't really talked to anyone else; Luka had always been around… not that it was bad; Miku enjoyed her interactions with the pink-haired idol—even now in this chaos of feelings, she still found herself satisfied in the interaction and the process of knowing—but she thought that it might be a good idea to start talking to others and getting to know them a bit more, as well as herself; and especially the void of what she doesn't remember. She looked at the twins perform and beyond the screen to the crack of the curtains; where the illuminating light was starting to glow a yellowish-orange. School had been out by this hour; even with club activities, "I wonder what they're doing…" she rolled to her back again and closed her eyes, trying to relax; hearing the intro of a meaningful duet between her and her best friend.

The curtains fluttered slightly and the light shone through once more—the sun was setting now. The days had been short in these months; winter's grip still clinging on to the blooming spring. The sky was painted with scattered clouds, the watercolour palette of dusk seeping through the various shapes. The wind still blew gently, picking up the leaves and petals that were to fall from the blooming branches. It was great weather to just walk around, and many took the opportunity to do so. Winter's lingering chill called for the comfort of scarves and light coats still, the usual dark colours of the garments standing out so well in the bright pink of the cherry's full bloom.

Walking out of the train station; three young students made their way to the orange-illuminated city; fitting right into the bustle of everyone else around them. The station was placed right in the middle of the shopping and business districts of the city and was one of the busiest and packed. Given the time, many students and daytime workers were just now getting off of their tasks and going to find some entertainment and commuting to wherever they need to go—the three blended rather well with their uniforms. They headed north, towards the cleaner, less bustling business district, the sale banners and various advertisements decreasing as they got further into the street of skyscrapers.

"Ah…" One stopped abruptly, nose scrunching up slightly, "Ah.. AH-choo!" A sniffle and a clearing of the throat. "Excuse me… ugh."

Another looked towards the one that had just sneezed, "Maybe the medicine is wearing off?" The boy scratched his blonde hair, looking around and clearing his own throat, "I feel fine right now, so mine's still good."

White tails of a hairtie waved with the wind and the girl sniffled again, "That pill is good for 24 hours. It can't be wearing off yet." The shorter girl started to walk again and the other two followed, "Besides, it was just one sneeze, I feel fine now. Like it never happened."

The third of the group watched and walked along, paying more attention to the buildings they passed more than the conversation or the tingly feeling in her own throat. A stout building was passed, as well as a skyscraper of massive size right next to it; another few blocks down and it would be the music area of the district—where they were headed and where her own company was located. She hummed a small four note tune, wondering what to expect. She looked at the twins in front of her as they went through a crosswalk, "Are your allergies this bad every year?" She tilted her head to the side and let out a hum, "Maybe someone's thinking about you."

The shorter blonde looked behind while continuing forward, "Not usually no… it wasn't this bad last year. And I don't really know who would be thinking about me." Her cheeks flushed, '_I mean, the person tahat… is here.'_ She cleared her throat again, "Miku, possibly… I've been meaning to see her or… ah, I don't know. Maybe there's just something weird in the air this time around." Rin looked at her brother and glared; not really knowing why.

Len furrowed his eyebrows and shot a defensive look, "Why are you looking at me like that?" He pouted, "I didn't do anything!"

Rin kept her fierce stare, letting her peripheral vision guide her as they walked on the sidewalk, "No, but you're somehow not affected by this as much as I am." She punched his arm lightly, feeling a bit irritated and offended, "It's like you're not even my twin." She gave a pretended-hurt look and walked on.

Len gave her an unbelieving expression, playing along with her jests, "Well, I'm sorry that I seemed to have gotten the superior immune system." He grinned, skipping a few steps away knowing how Rin would react.

Predictably, Rin went for a hit, but Len dodged skilfully, having played out this scenario many times before. They ran ahead; a feign of blows and unmeaning insults being thrown. Iroha kept her pace, luckily, the two weren't too quick about moving forward.

They passed an entrance to a rather large parking lot and a shallow set of stairs that led to a large reception area. The tint covered glass gave off a reflected orange glare and the ponytailed Iroha stopped to look more inside. A logo was all she could make out. Her eyes darted to the area around her, a sign, a look up, and finally, an almost hidden namesake with a large, emphasized 'Y' was found, almost hidden on the smoked glass. She turn at her heel with precision and looked towards the quarrelling twins, "Isn't this it?" The peach-haired girl raised her arm slightly, her bag swaying with the movement towards the main entrance.

The blonde duo continued their small squabble up until Rin managed to get a light punch on Len's shoulder; she gave a look of taunting to her brother before walking back to Iroha and nodding, walking up the steps to the door, "Yep. This is Crypton." Her steps slowed slightly, waiting for her apple-scented clubmate to walk along with her. The Kagamine boy lagged behind, but Rin wasn't really concerned; he'd been here as much as her, after all. Iroha hadn't. The doors slid open and the two girls walked through, "Welcome to Crypton. It might be a bit overwhelming on your first visit, but I'll be your guide today." She faked a flight attendant pose and demeanour, joking around a bit with Iroha.

The cat-ear-like bow of the peach-haired Iroha waved from side to side as she shook her head, walking along the path past the front desk to what she recognized were front end office spaces, "This isn't my first time here."

Rin nodded, not all too surprised. It wasn't uncommon for other companies and their idols to visit other offices, after all, "When was the last time you were here? Was it with your manager?" She walked through the hall towards the break room, wonder if she could spot a certain assistant.

Another pair of footsteps started to follow them as Len managed to catch up. Iroha gave him a nod of acknowledgement and thought for a second to give an answer to Rin, "A long while ago… around half a year. I wasn't contracted then, but I was with someone who is my manager now. We didn't really come here to do business really… I was just beginning the scouted talent process and the person that had been interviewing and guiding me decided to have tea with someone here…"

They lingered by the large glass panes looking into the room filled with machines and snacks. It was empty for now and Rin figured to get something to drink real quick to soothe her sinuses before heading to where she was going. "That's a bit… well, you got here without an appointment, not being in a contract… to meet with someone that your current manager knew…. That's rare."

Down the hallway, heading in the same direction as the trio walked an olive-haired pile of busy energy. Stacks of folders and papers were carried in both hands and frustration was once again starting to show; the mass of hair messier than usual. A sigh escaped the short professional's lips and light brown eyes looked through the glass nonchalantly as feet made their way to the door. A sudden stop. A glimpse of what looked like a long ponytailed idol showing through the window. "AH Soft—… what's she doing here?" Eyebrows raised and head tilted, the short assistant held the papers in hand a bit tighter and walked to the doorway of the room.

Rin sat down, inviting Iroha to sit with her. The other Kagamine had already gone straight for the vending machines, getting a drink for all three of them. The ribboned blonde had already made herself home, feeling comfort in the familiar cold room—she slumped over on the couch and closed her eyes, letting out a sound of relief once she put her feet off the ground. The apple-scented Iroha sat on a different couch not too far from her and the slightly spicy scent filled the blonde's senses. She almost didn't hear what her brother had said.

"This is the last orange juice, Rin. I hope they restock it soon or you won't have any more to get from here. You better tell Yuu." He held out the can to his sister; but seeing as she was not even giving the effort to take it from him, Len decided to just set it on the arm rest next to his resting twin's head. He shook his head and walked a few steps towards Iroha to give her the can of apple juice he held in one hand.

Iroha gave a small bow politely towards the boy, "Thank you." She took the can and opened it, the aluminum cracking and giving a hiss at the escape of carbonation. She waited for the bubbles to dissipate a bit and wondered back on the conversations, "Who is Yuu?"

The boy turned to sit on another seat close to the couch. He watched his twin stir a bit, grabbing the can of orange juice but not opening it; he smiled and looked at the stone-faced Iroha, "Yuu is—"

A loud clack of a shoe on the floor caught all their attentions. Standing past the doorway and walking towards a coffee table was the olive-haired assistant they had just been talking about.

"That's Yuu." Len gave an amused smile and shrugged at Iroha.

The cat-like girl merely stared at the new arrival. She could have sworn… "Ah… it's you." She remembered.

The assistant blinked; taking a survey of the room as it was, wondering how they had managed to settle in so quickly. "Yes, that's me, I'm Yuu." Papers shuffled in the assistant's grip and brown eyes tried to look at the girl in front of her, but found the golden orbs held entirely too much intensity even in a static state.

Iroha shook her head, knowing the short assistant had misunderstood the way she said her words, "No, I mean; it's you. We met. Before…"

Len listened in curiosity and Rin sat up to listen more carefully. If they had met before, that must mean something. Yuu wasn't one to meet with no good reason.

The assistant took a long look at the non-Crypton girl in the room. "Yes, I'm Yuu. My name is Yuu." Though Iroha was sitting, they were almost eye level when Yuu had decided to walk closer. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember where or how we met." Yuu restacked the papers. _'But I do remember you.'_

The ponytailed girl stood up and bowed slightly, a bit embarrassed at the small lapse in her mannerisms. "I am Iroha. We only met once and I didn't get introduced then. I had only come here because my manager now, Irino-san dragged me here to get some… coffee… or tea with a friend? I guess that was you." The cat-like girl's golden eyes looked around the room, "And we ended up here in this room for a while."

Yuu signalled for the young idol to sit down and relax. An indent on the couch had formed when the brown-eyed manager's assistant decided to sit next to Rin—it wasn't that the other companies and their presidents and managers were secret; it was common knowledge that came along with the title of the job as the personal assistant for the tops of Crypton. The name, however, was something that caught the ear; not particularly because of business reasons either, "Irino." Lips pursed together at the sound, "AH Software. I'm familiar… though your Irino had really just come down here to have tea and distract me from my work…" A sigh. _'Like it's always been'_. A furrow of the eyebrows and a quick re-glance at the girl suddenly made everything much clearer. The busy assistant had recognized her as AH Software's new idol, but it was only now that it was realized that Iroha was also the young, quiet girl that had come with Irino so many months ago. "You were the girl that had tagged along?"

Rin sat up properly on her part of the couch, taking a quick sip of the orange juice that had been given to her. She saw Iroha nod at the prompt and decided to cut in, "We were actually looking for you. Well, I was." Another swig of the orange juice. Yuu gave her a curious look. "We know where Touhi is."

The young assistant sat up, not expecting to hear that news. The search for the missing producer had gotten out of hand before, undoubtedly due to the lack of information. For the idols themselves to come in and say they knew something like that had been surprising; especially to one that held the title of what was basically third in command in the Crypton agency. Things had died down from the hysteria and the brown-eyed Yuu had been expecting to sit in front of the computer and handling calls to dig up as much information as possible, "What? You know for sure?"

All three idols nodded together. Yuu looked at Iroha pulling out her phone from her bag.

Golden amber eyes looked up with a simple, confident and honest statement, "Touhi is in Korea." Iroha looked and realized from the curious expressions that such a simple statement would not be enough. She held her phone up with Miki's contact info already on the screen, "He went there to get back Miki. She ran off before the Crypton concert date arrived and she's been there since. Touhi was concerned since we've always been close, so he went to go get her." She saw the twins nod and saw Yuu only give her a more confused look than before. Iroha thought it over and realized her mistake; in the simplicity of her explanation, she had left out the part of how this would happen in the first place, "Miki and I are cousins. Same with ourselves and Touhi. We're all related and pretty close…. If I had a choice, it would have been myself to go to Korea… I've been wanting to anyways, to… ah… but I had my debut CD coming out, so I couldn't go with her."

The tawny locks of the assistant fell around the collar as a silent "Ah, so that makes sense" was mouthed.

The two blondes looked at Yuu, wondering what would be done.

Brown-eyes only responded to a few blinks, seeing the apple-scented cat's phone in her hand, "Do you think you could ask him to come back?" Oh, Yuu hated making requests of other people. "We're in a bind with him leaving in the initiation of a project."

The ever-neutral expression of Iroha contrasted her nods; her phone already dialled and ringing for Miki's phone. "I'll see if I can talk to them. I'll put it on speaker so you can all hear…" a button was pressed and surely enough, the audio started ringing through the small phone speaker and all four of them in the room started at the phone in the girl's hand.

_Riiiiing. Riiiiiiiiiing. Riiiiiiiin—_

A voice somewhat more mature and deeper than the red-haired Miki's voice answered, making Iroha's cheeks to become flush from being caught a bit off-guard.

"_Yoboseyoooo"_

Iroha shook her head slightly and tried to figure out whose voice she was hearing.

"_Eh…? Yoboseeeyooo"_

The other three looked at the peach haired girl, baffled at what was being said through the speakers. Iroha shrugged; she wouldn't have known. "Ah… hello?"

A surprised giggle on the other line and it sounded like she had been caught off-guard as well, "Hello, Hello!"

"Ah… I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude, but who is this…? I am trying to reach Miki…?" The peach-haired girl fiddled with the tip of her ponytail. Feigning ignorance was one thing she could do, but the growing hue on her cheeks would not lie.

In a thick but not really intrusive accent the voice replied, "My name is Shi-Y—oh, Miki! Phooooo~ne" A sudden transfer of the handheld rang out ambient sounds on the speaker; loud shuffles and scratches made all four in the room back away a bit from the device. "Ah, who could it be… oh! Ah, hello, this is Miki~ I-ro-ha! How are you?"

The cat-like girl gave a rare smile, letting out a breath that she had been holding, "Miki… I'm fine thank you. Who was that?"

"Ah… that's my friend. You know, I've told you about her! The one that…"

"Ah! Yes, that's what I thought… I just wasn't sure; but I did recognize the voice."

"I would hope so, after that conversation!"

Iroha blushed and Rin observed carefully. Something in her chest had been thumping since the start of the phone call—it was strange to see Iroha act out so many emotions at once and she had to wonder if she acted so easily flustered with people she was more comfortable with. It was definitely a big difference from what she usually saw—the cool, stone-face, collected, unfazed Iroha and the easily flustered, confused, smiling, relaxed Iroha in front of her now. A sudden pang of jealousy resonated within her.

Len in turn observed his twin. He could tell she wasn't simply listening to the conversation, but picking up the little nuances and probably blowing them out of proportion. He sighed once he saw the hurt flash briefly in her eyes. What a mess this was going to be.

Yuu sat, collected, observing; in the usual manner of an industry professional.

Iroha observed the three quickly and decided to not delay the conversation, "Miki, is Touhi around? I want to talk to him."

"Hummm… Touhi's busy with Shi-chan and her friend right now… they're making some song of sorts."

Iroha listened for a second and indeed heard the very faint sound of a simple track playing in the background ambiance of the phone's speaker. She could hear words every now and again but could only make out an accented "Awh, yeh" and her cousin's producer namedrop, letting the entire world that could hear him at that moment that it was in fact Touhi having a hand a production, an action that made her smile in amusement. "Ah… well, Irino-san told me to call and see how you were doing… and to talk to Touhi too, something that needed to be discussed…"

A silence through the speakers could only bring the image of a thinking Miki, "Irino-san, huh? And Touhi?" She sounded interested as she hummed, "I'll tell him and I'll call you again."

Iroha nodded though her cousin could not see. She knew that would catch the fickle redhead's attention—she had always wanted to work professionally with Touhi all this time, after all. A talk between her manager and her cousin could only be seen as favourable.

"Iroha." The voice suddenly took on a more mature tone, "I'll be staying here a bit longer. I'm really liking it here. But… well. Touhi…", a sigh and a sound of frustration, "I know Touhi has more responsibilities than I do and can't stay here as long as I can. I'll call you back."

Iroha nodded again and the rest of the party still kept their silence. The other three felt out of the loop in the conversation, but they figured it was inevitable. Iroha took the phone off of the loudspeaker and held it to her ear, "I will wait then." A pause to hear the other side of the phone, now mute to everyone else. Iroha smiled genuinely and kindly; the blonde sitting next to her was almost drowning in envy of it. Another nod from the cat-eared girl, "That's fine. Have fun then. I want to hear 'Yoboseyo'-unnie there once she's done with it. It sounds fun." Another expected pause. "Okay. I'll talk to you soon then. Bye." She pulled the phone away from her ear, ending the call and wiping the screen off absentmindedly on her school skirt.

Iroha looked around and didn't notice until now how confused and yet so interested everyone had been.

Yuu blinked, holding a palm to the chin in rest, "So what did she say? Is Touhi there?"

Len turned to the assistant, "Did you not hear the song? That lame namedrop was definitely him… what in the world could they be doing anyways…"

Rin crossed her arms and legs, "Having more fun than all of us, it seems." She kept her eye on her clubmate, the unfamiliar smile lingering in her features. "Iroha?"

Golden eyes looked up and a sway of the head placed her bangs out of her line of sight, "Ah? Oh, yeah. I guess she'll call back soon, though she seems to think Irino-san is the one that wants to talk to Touhi…" The cat-like girl bit the inside of her bottom lip in thought, giving her a rather pouty look, "I haven't talked to Irino-san about anything; just that Miki was in Korea and that it was okay since AH was focusing on myself at the moment… I suppose I should phone and go to the office and explain so I can get a conversation between Touhi and ourselves going… if I can manage to a get a hold of-" She looked down at her phone, scrolling down the contacts to find the entry for her manager as she spoke.

Yuu stood, hair shaking with the movement. Brown eyes sternly stared at the AH idol and a palm was held out in a signal for her to stop, "No need. I'll do it myself and get that aloof manager here. You don't have to do anything, just give me a moment." The short assistant looked at the stares the three idols gave, obviously slightly dumbfounded. A mere nod was all that was given as acknowledgement and a shuffle of the feet led to the hallway where Yuu quickly placed a call.

Len looked to his twin and then to Iroha, his face just as confused as theirs, "Do… they know each other?" He pointed outside where Yuu stood, speaking animatedly to whoever was on the other line.

Rin shrugged, "I wouldn't know. It seems like it though." The white hairtie of the girl swayed as she looked between Yuu and Iroha. "Do you know?"

Iroha tilted her head, hearing Yuu's muffled voice raise in a frustrated but composed manner, "Ah. Well, Irino-san did come to see… Yuu-san when I had visited… so I would imagine so, yes. They seemed close enough." She put a finger to her lips, trying to remember the day she had first come to Crypton's offices, "They mainly drank tea… talked about life and how high school used to be and their classmates..."

The blonde twins looked at each other, giving a knowing look. Iroha had been vague, but to anyone listening, it would have been obvious what was implied. _'They were reminiscing about high school? They're definitely close then!'_

Footsteps were heard again, letting the three talents know that Yuu had returned. The tawny-haired assistant smiled contentedly, looking towards Iroha. "Your manager will be here in a few minutes."

A bit taken aback, Iroha made a confused 'Ah?' and tilted her head. The AH Software manager was known for being aloof and occasionally disappearing as well—Iroha had actually figured maybe that's why Irino had been so lenient on Miki just taking off to another country. Still, it surprised her; the manager was near impossible to reach by phone if there was nothing too busy going on (like at the moment for AH Software, since Iroha's CD had already been released and the press and interviews mostly done with) and even if the manager was able to be reached, making time for someone was also something that was never done; preferring to have them come in rather than actually going out to meet them.

Yuu kept a smile at Iroha's confusion, knowing exactly how Irino usually was. _'Sorry to confuse you little kitten. Your manager will always make time if it's for me.' _A satisfied grin showed through the young professional's expressions and the other three in the room merely sat, still confused as the brown-eyed assistant sat down on the couch to wait.

Not too far down the street, in the parking lot of a smaller several-story building was a bustling short-haired manager looking longingly into a car window. The warm, light-red sweater reflected against the tint and in a near futile attempt to peer inside, pressed up against the glass of the window.

A defeated expression washed over the sweater-clad professional, seeing a glint of keys inside the vehicle.

A swift kick to the tire and a turn on the heel got the black-haired manager on the way to a larger building, someone had called and it was not only professional duty that powered the way there, but more of a personal desire to both help and see this particular someone.

The sun had just about set; the streets only glowing with a quickly dimming orange hue; the brightest stars shining their way into the coming night sky. The ones that were known by name… the ones that were not as emphasized. The famous Altair and Vega showing their light down through the orange hues, Sirius shining brilliantly even through the lingering sunlight. Arcturus, Betelgeuse, Aldebaran, Pollux, Antares… the stars even an amateur astronomer or hobbyist remembered the names of. There were others that would eventually come as the night turned darker; but it was only the brightest that shine through dusk. The constellations would not even be seen until later; but these shined effortlessly. Off to where the constellation Virgo would be seen once the sun had fully settled; only Spica shone brightly. A binary star system; actually composed of two stars but can only be observed by the naked eye as one.

It was a representation of many things, many stories were told; almost as much as Altair and Vega's legends. Spica represented an ever-lasting relationship; a gravitational pull—some made stories of forbidden love, two ever-present stars that could never touch without mutual destruction. It was no surprise that many artists took it as inspiration—Hatsune Miku herself had sang a song involving the namesake of the star, a performance that she herself had been watching at that moment; the concert footage still rolling on.

The teal haired girl still lied on couch of her darkened living room, her eyes glistening. The footage had been playing on, but her reappearance on the stage only proved to wreck her emotions. Since the twin's performance had ended; it was her back on stage—with just the right songs to break her heart. The emotion of the song that she had first listened to in the hospital with Luka; hearing the pinkette's backing, uncredited contributions in 'From Y to Y' had first thrown her into a rising heat and the tears had started to spill despite her efforts; just like when she was at the hospital.

The next one gave her no break; though cheerful in tune and the performance full of energy, the message was clear of a final departure that Miku was not personally familiar with, but still hurt her heart at the thought. The conveyance of a feeling that was never said and known made her tears keep on flowing as she watched—her heart giving the sensation of being pulled into a heavy emotion at the last _'Sayonara' _ of 'Saihate'.

Miku had cleared her eyes in the small break of the songs, 'Strobo Nights' had started off calmly enough. Through its lyrics still felt relevant; the more upbeat and confident tone of the song helped to comfort the young diva into a composed state for most of the song; only finding herself heating up with emotion near the end of it.

There was no break with the next one; the one that played now. The song had started immediately to the repeating piano intro of 'SPiCa', putting Miku back into a state of chaos, the mix of emotions as she watched herself sing the words she found more appropriate than any at the moment putting her in a trance. The tears held back themselves; her eyes merely glistening in the light with moisture, but none fell. The declaration of selfishness, the need to be close; the energy of the entire song made her swallow the feeling of a lump in her throat. The her then thanked the crowd and the Miku now stopped the footage; getting up to turn off the TV. She held a pillow in her hand, clutching it tighter, pulling it up and loosening her grip as if trying to calm herself down by the pressure.

Looking down her hallway, the orange hue was nearly gone. The night sky had started to show itself and more stars had become visible; Miku wondered if the star she had sung about; the star that had given her these emotions now and the decisiveness in her mind was out there, watching.

The one to ask would have been Luka, being so interested in astronomy… she would surely be able to point out Spica in the night sky. Miku sighed, clutching the pillow closer. She figured to sleep the rest of the day away; though she'd rather talk to the pinkette. The teal-eyed girl understood that it was best to leave it alone for now; words would be too rushed and emotional. Miku tossed the pillow on the couch; rubbing her injured arm gently and staring at her studio room door. Just beyond there was the person she felt that gravitational pull to; the person she couldn't meet right now, or things would just get worse; destroyed. She ran her fingers through her hair and decided to lie back down on the couch. Closing her eyes; her thoughts started to flow, unconsciousness starting to seep into her stressed core. _'Spica… eternally co-exist; always dancing together… touching too close will destroy it; but everyone sees them as a brilliant unity…'_a yawn escaped her sleepy form, _'Kind of appropriate, wouldn't you think…?'_ the young woman melted into the comfort of the cushions, her thoughts racing about every subject that concerned her. Sleep was to fall soon. _'Heartbreak will pass...'_

The light that had shone through the windows and the cracks lost its colour; the orange had turned to a pure white illumination from the moon. The stars danced around, twinkling as they eternally did, revolving around the hours of the night. The fainter ones showed through, joining the grand ball of the brightest in the nocturne symphony. They all revolved around each other, watching down on the planet that had such a keen interest in watching them all. As close as they were in the view of Earth's sky; they still lay light years away from each other; some never knowing of the other's existences, even in their own assigned constellation… only the binary stars had a companion in the loneliness of the universe; the endless expanse. Spica revolved on, eternally dancing together; but even in their unity, their combined luminosity; they too must set from the view of the Earth.

The sky had started to turn a different hue once more, the sun coming back around to say hello to the sleeping city. A soft and warm palette of pink, orange and yellow moved in, getting brighter by the minute.

In a small, cold room, teal eyes struggled to open; palms touched the cold floor beyond the mat that the young woman had managed to sleep on. A groggy rub of the eyes and a quick tousle of the hair cleared her vision. The light had been kept on—she didn't mean to have stayed in here for so long, after all. The night had been restless for her; staying up until who knows what hour just thinking and making up scenarios in her mind; looking back to see the signs and all the things she could have done. She had circled the studio room infinitely, looking through notes of songs, memos for choreographies and whatever other thing there was to distract her from her thoughts. Her stubborn self had refused to go out; knowing her actions had already made things more complicated than they should have been. It wasn't until midnight or past that she managed to sit down and mull things over; somehow falling asleep on the mat that she sat on. Mentally scolding herself, she got up and turned off the light and through the cracks of the door saw a warm light filter in. She shook her head, looking around for the clock to tell her the hour.

It was the hour before seven in the morning and at the view of the clock, Megurine Luka felt the sadness and a deep sense of guilt piece her entire body. How could she have been so careless? She didn't mean to be isolated for so long…

Looking at the door and gripping the handle, Luka closed her eyes, unmoving. Just beyond what she held was the person she had needed to be close to; the person she had promised to take care of and be there for—though it was through medical obligations; it was the same person she would have done those things for with or without the binding paperwork. She sighed, trying to let the overwhelming weight of feelings breathe out with it.

Luka wasn't too proud at all at that moment. She had broken a promise to herself; and she had broken her honesty. Running away wasn't something she did; and she found it rather cowardly not to face what she needed to. She knew the truth. _'The truth is… I want to be…'_

She opened her eyes, staring at her hand on the handle; making out the contours in the minimal light that surrounded her. Without turning to open the door, she looked at where the couch would be directed at; where she last saw Hatsune Miku.

'_Hey… am I…_

_ Am I too late?'_

* * *

><p><em>Author's Notes (again):<em>

_That was long, wasn't it? I know my writing style (continuous, like a single shot, without any line breaks) might end up being hard to read here._

_There were a lot of things I wanted to clarify with the last note here, but I completely forgot what, exactly. I know I wanted to say that for the lyrics I put in for the songs; I tried to format it so the translation isn't intrusive. There's also a **lot** of references in this chapter to a few songs some of you might recognize. I was going to do this chapter as inspired by 'SPiCa', but I changed my mind and the prevalent theme actually ended up being 'Interviewer' instead. 'SPiCa' did inspire some parts, but in the end it only showed up for a little bit of the story. I tried to be as accurate as possible for the geographical locations and times… but that's just a little perfectionist detail. The ones Miki and Touhi are hanging out with in Korea are actual characters that have a place in the community, though at this time in the story, they would have been unknown. _

_Anyways, I'll stop rambling now. If you have any questions or comments or just want to say hi (concerning the story or otherwise), feel free to leave a message on formspring or twitter or shoot me an e-mail or something. I try to be good with responding to messages, but sometimes it gets to be a bit much and my life tends to get pretty hectic too. I'll definitely try to respond though! It's harder to reach me here on ff.n, just because I get so many and I hardly check. OTL_

_So, until next time! Thanks for reading!_


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